Dallas County’s Lew Sterrett Justice Center is currently under strain, with its inmate population nearing 96% of total capacity.
The facility, designed to house 7,119 inmates, currently holds 6,826, presenting a need for relief as overcrowding becomes a pressing issue.
Commissioner John Wiley Price is calling for a new approach to alleviate the situation. He has criticized the slow pace of case filings, noting that nearly 1,000 felony cases remain unfiled, contributing to the overcrowded conditions.
Price also emphasized that many inmates have been held for over 90 days without indictment. He urged both public defenders and private attorneys to file writs of habeas corpus to expedite their defendants’ release, according to a recent report by Fox 4 KDFW.
Dallas County Administrator Lynn Pride Richardson, who was recently promoted to chief public defender, echoed Price’s sentiments. Richardson told Fox 4 that her office is actively contacting attorneys to identify clients eligible for release under state law.
The relevant state law stipulates that individuals arrested on felony charges and held for more than 90 days without an indictment may be released on a personal recognizance bond if their attorneys file the appropriate legal motion.
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office is collaborating with local police departments to manage arrests and transports of non-violent offenders, aiming to relieve some of the strain on the jail’s current system, per Fox 4.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, in 2023, Dallas County’s jail was operating at 97% capacity, leading officials to consider early releases for inmates despite the City experiencing a rise in certain categories of crime, including murder, auto theft, and drug-related offenses.
LaShonda Jefferson, the jail population manager, previously reported that the jail housed 6,631 inmates in 2023. At the time, county officials attributed the overcrowding problems to issues in the new case management software deployed across the county’s criminal justice system.
During a 2023 meeting of the Jail Population Committee, officials highlighted ongoing problems with the software as a key factor contributing to the overcrowding.
In May 2024, a Dallas County advisory committee proposed investing $5 billion in a new jail and courthouse complex to replace the Lew Sterrett Justice Center.
The committee also suggested exploring the sale or lease of the existing North Riverfront Boulevard site, which has become a valuable location near downtown. This could potentially help offset the new project’s costs. The Jail Facilities Advisory Committee emphasized that the current facility’s numerous issues make renovation impractical compared to constructing a new facility.