Dear Editor,
In response to columnist Scott Hudson’s report concerning a visit by Mayor Garnett Johnson and Commissioners Catherine Mcknight (District 3), Tony Lewis (District 6), and Jordan Johnson (District 1) to Charles B. Webster Detention Center to witness firsthand what appears to be the facility’s death spiral, I feel compelled to buttress Sheriff Richard Roundtree’s disheartening revelations.
Sheriff Roundtree informed the “tourists” that inmates on average are sitting in CBWDC for four years (48 months). I was there for 38, arrested in March 2020 and released in May 2023. During my time there I encountered several issues weekly from water somehow flooding the cell in which I was assigned to dodging over-the-top violence that has claimed the jail as a stronghold. Yes, the violence – both group and individual – is running unabated throughout the pods. Yes, the jail is understaffed and overcrowded. Yes, nearly all of the kiosks and phones are virtually inoperable. Yes, the lack of morale amongst jailers and deputies has risen exponentially.
But, who should bear criticism? Who’s to blame? Could it be that the system has finally broken? There are hundreds of non-violent offenders sitting in jail today due to the cash bail crisis. Then there are those who want to go to trial, but prosecutors are not giving their case any attention unless the accused party intends to compromise. And when bonds are denied or unable to reach, compromising seems very much likely as the better option for someone who is not interested in “closed-space warfare” day-in and day-out. Locking several men and women in a small space like caged animals is not going to bring about rainbows and butterflies. Frustrations will build, and if left unchecked, become uncontrollable.
Lawrence Anthony Brannen
Founder/President
Ex-Offenders For Reform & Advancement, Inc.
