The Chronicle’s Steve McVicker and Bill Murphy follow up their earlier story on the chronically abysmal condition of the Harris County Jail facilities with this story that reports that Harris County officials have ignored repeated warnings regarding the unsanitary and over-crowded condition of the jails.
To make matters even more egregious (if that were possible), a Sam Houston State University report warned Harris County officials almost two years ago of a looming explosion in the county jail population. Despite that report, the Harris County Criminal Justice Committee — which was created in 1995 in response to a jail-overcrowding lawsuit that resulted in the jail being under a federal judge’s oversight for 23 years — has not met to review the report or the conditions at the jail.
By strange coincidence, the Criminal Justice Committee is now scheduled to meet this Friday. I’m sure the previous Chronicle article has nothing to do with that.

According to the article, the Chronicle’s previous article on the jail conditions prompted several calls from jail employees who described in detail how county officials have intentionally misled state officials regarding just how bad the conditions are at the jails:

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the two jailers charged that Sheriff’s Office officials sometimes hid inmates from state inspectors.
“They played a game of musical inmates,” said one jailer, who also is a deputy sheriff. “They would take them from one building to another through the tunnel system.”
After the inspectors left, the deputy said, the inmates were crammed back into units that already were fully occupied ? a practice he called “sardining.”
And, they say, inmates already are suffering from staphylococcus infections.
Chief Deputy Mike Smith, who oversees jail operations, denied that any inmates have been concealed from inspectors and said no inmates are going without mattresses.
He also said he is unaware of any widespread staph outbreak.
“You know, we have to work here, too,” he said.

This is really a sad reflection of our community that the chronically poor condition of the Harris County Jail facilities continues to be ignored (or covered up) by Harris County’s elected officials. Here’s hoping that the Chronicle stays on top of this issue.