Increase in rural jail population disproportionately women - Entrepreneur Generations

Hamblen County, Tennessee
(Wikipedia map)

A piece from The New York Times notes that the increase in rural jail populations is often driven by women, and discusses some of the reasons rural incarceration is increasing,  according to data from The Vera Institute. The article illustrates the trend with a portrait of the Hamblen County Jail in Morristown, Tennessee.

"The Hamblen County Jail has been described as a dangerously overcrowded 'cesspool of a dungeon,' with inmates sleeping on mats in the hallways, lawyers forced to meet their clients in a supply closet and the people inside subjected to 'horrible conditions' every day," Richard Oppel Jr. reports for the Times. "Like a lot of Appalachia, Morristown . . . has been devastated by methamphetamine and opioid use. Residents who commit crimes to support their addiction pack the 255-bed jail, which had 439 inmates at the end of October, according to the latest state data. Many cities have invested in treatment options and diversion programs to help drug users. But those alternatives aren’t available in a lot of small towns."

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/34OGM5X Increase in rural jail population disproportionately women - Entrepreneur Generations

Posted by Entrepreneur Generations

Tweet