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"Thousands languish in crowded jail"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this effective article in today's Houston Chronicle.  Here is how it starts: More than half of the 11,500 inmates crammed into the Harris County Jail have not yet been found guilty of a crime but await their day in court confined with convicted criminals in conditions that repeatedly flunk state and federal safety inspections. The most common accusation against them: possession of a crack pipe or minuscule amount of drugs. Though the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a speedy trial, at least 500 county inmates have been locked up for more than a year as they wait to be judged, according to an analysis of inmate data by the Houston Chronicle. About 1,200 have been jailed six months or more though many face only minor felony charges, such as bouncing checks, credit card fraud, trespassing or even civil violations...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 23, 2009 (boomark / email).