Judge orders intervention by court on crowding

The county can still try to resolve the problem on its own, the court said.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A three-judge panel will determine a prisoner release order to relieve overcrowding at the Mahoning County Jail, U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr. has ruled.
In an order issued Thursday in an inmates' lawsuit against the county, Judge Dowd said the county has been given an opportunity to correct overcrowding but has been unable to do so without court intervention.
He said he is asking the chief judge of the 6th Circuit Court to appoint a three-judge panel by June 30 to develop a prisoner release plan. The panel must have at least one circuit judge on it, Judge Dowd said.
His ruling doesn't preclude the county from continuing to try to work out its overcrowding problem, Judge Dowd said, encouraging the county's Criminal Justice Working Group to continue its efforts to resolve the issue.
Mahoning County Commissioner John McNally IV, chairman of the working group, said that the county was always aware that the court might take over the process at some point, but that it is important for the county and city of Youngstown to continue discussions on sharing costs for staffing and operating the jail.
McNally said he believes there is still time to work this out without court intervention.
County and city officials met earlier this week and appear close to reaching an agreement on sharing costs and space at the jail.
Lack of funds has resulted in the county's closing its misdemeanor jail and one tower of the county jail.
Key issue unresolved
Judge Dowd, who ruled in 2005 that the jail's operation was overcrowded, understaffed and therefore unconstitutional, noted in Thursday's ruling that progress has been made toward resolving issues of legal access and outdoor recreation for inmates as well as building maintenance and staff training. The central issue of population control remains unresolved.
A May 2005 agreement between the inmates who sued and the county limited the jail population to no more than 296 inmates while the overcrowding problem is being resolved, Judge Dowd said.
A common pleas court-ordered release mechanism was put in place but has failed to control the population, in part the result of "Do Not Release" orders by various courts that prohibit the sheriff from releasing adequate numbers of prisoners to maintain the jail cap, Judge Dowd said.
As of May 5, the jail population stood at 463 inmates, the judge said.
"Consequently, this court finds that it is unlikely that the plan to maintain constitutional population levels at the jail will be effective without some intervention by this court in the form of a prisoner release mechanism," Judge Dowd said in his ruling.
gwin@vindy.com