THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501140159
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
The sheriffs in Newport News and Hampton are filing suit against the state, demanding the removal of state inmates, and bringing to four the number of Hampton Roads jails seeking court-ordered relief from overcrowding.
In all, the suits bring to six the number of jails statewide that have filed suit against the state Department of Corrections or will file soon. This week, sheriffs in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth and Hampton filed for court relief. Newport News will file early next week, and Alexandria and Richmond will file within two weeks, said the lawyer who represents the cities.
Under state law, a felon sentenced to three years or more in prison must be moved from a local jail to a state prison within 60 days of being convicted. In Hampton Roads, the sheriffs of Norfolk and Chesapeake have been the only ones to indicate that they are not planning to sue the state immediately.
On Tuesday, 669 state inmates were awaiting transfer to prisons in the six city jails in Hampton Roads - in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Newport News and Hampton.
The spate of lawsuits is the result of Gov. George F. Allen's new parole policy, the sheriffs said.
Six months into the tenure of Allen's new parole board, Virginia has the lowest parole-granting rate in the nation and a growing backlog of state prisoners in local jails.
On Friday, Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts filed suit in Hampton Circuit Court against Allen, state Secretary of Public Safety Jerry W. Kilgore and state Corrections Department Director Ron Angelone. Roberts demanded that 108 state inmates be moved from his jail. The Hampton jail is rated to hold 160 inmates but currently houses 400, Roberts said.
``One only needs to walk through our jail, and see inmates sleeping on the floor and see that every space within the jail is being used for bed space to know that this setting is a time-bomb waiting to go off,'' Roberts wrote in response to a newspaper survey of jails statewide. ``Unfortunately, the only way to alleviate this problem at present seems to be the threat of a lawsuit.''
Newport News plans to file suit early next week, Sheriff Clay Hester said Friday. The Newport News jail, rated to hold 248 inmates, housed 552 prisoners Jan. 10. Of those, 127 were awaiting transfer to state prisons, Hester said.
``We're filing . . . now to try to get the state to move them within 60 days, or pay for housing,'' Hester said. ``It's state law. The Department of Corrections should obey state law. . . If we're going to lock them up, we're going to have to provide a place to put them.''
The flurry of lawsuits started Tuesday when Virginia Beach Sheriff Frank Drew filed suit demanding that 92 state felons be taken to state prisons. The next day, Portsmouth Sheriff Gary Waters sued in Portsmouth Circuit Court, seeking the transfer of 27 prisoners.
Within two weeks, the Alexandria sheriff will sue the Corrections Department to take about 200 prisoners, and the Richmond sheriff will sue for the transfer fof 100 state felons, said lawyer Jeffrey Breit, who represents all six sheriffs.
On Dec. 19, the last day the Corrections Department had complete figures, the daily average was 2,200 felons awaiting transfer to state prisons, state officials said Tuesday.
Spokesmen for Kilgore and Attorney General James S. Gilmore have said they would not comment on the pending lawsuits.
Two local sheriffs have indicated that they hope to relieve their overcrowding through diplomatic channels, but might sue if necessary.
``I have considered such (legal) action in the past, but received some relief from the state,'' said Chesapeake Sheriff John R. Newhart, whose jail houses 116 state felons awaiting transfer. ``I would rather work within the system instead of challenging it, but I will not limit my options. . . ''
Norfolk Sheriff Robert McCabe said he was not ruling out court action but preferred working through channels. The Norfolk jail - built for 579 inmates - housed 1,425 inmates in July, the same month the parole board's grant-rate fell to an all-time low of 5 percent.
The state responded by taking 400 inmates in the past year, McCabe said Friday. But most of those transfers occurred after the U.S. Department of Justice released a report calling the ``grossly overcrowded'' Norfolk City Jail a serious public-health threat and said it would sue McCabe and the city unless the jail's population were reduced to 750 inmates by October 1996.
KEYWORDS: JAILS OVERCROWDING PRISONERS SUIT VIRGINIA STATE
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS by CNB