A multimillion dollar jail expansion proposal in Haywood County is causing a rift within the community and raising questions about the importance of rehabilitation and the effectiveness of incarceration.
Defer to sheriff on need for jail
To the Editor:
There has been a bit of discussion and controversy over the proposal for Haywood County to spend in the neighborhood of $15 million to build a new jail. One of the arguments is that there are other needs that could be addressed for that amount of money. The problem is that some of the arguments don’t address the issue for the need of a new detention facility.
Some groups and individuals have correctly pointed out that mental health and substance use disorders appear to contribute to criminal behavior and recidivism. This is partially based on a study conducted in the Haywood County Detention Center showing high prevalence rates for these conditions and associations with recidivism.
Jail expansion project enters critical phase Tentative plans for a jail expansion in Waynesville have generated spirited debate. File photo
Opponents of Haywood County’s proposed $16 million jail expansion project are ramping up pressure on county commissioners to consider alternative proposals that would devote more resources to keeping people out of jail.
“Before we actively ruin peoples’ lives with a jail, we have to address these drivers of incarceration,” said Jesse Lee Dunlap, an organizer with local grassroots advocacy group Down Home North Carolina. “We want some focus on keeping people out of jail. We have, right next door, the example of Swain County where they recently expanded their detention center but because they did not address the drivers of incarceration, they are already full and having to ship inmates to other counties.”
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