Sheriff looking at what's next for Lawrence Co. jail

The Lawrence County jail, set behind the new Judicial Center. An earlier jail, now offices for the sheriff's staff, is visible at far left, with a connecting fence which the sheriff declared is an inadequate deterrent for escaping prisoners. [Times Photo by Murray Bishoff] [Click to enlarge]

Lawrence County Sheriff Brad DeLay is still working out what to do next with the now-closed Lawrence County jail.

On one hand, DeLay has yet to determine costs for fixing several very specific problems before the jail is safe enough to reopen. On the other hand, the sheriff figured it would cost about $50,000 a month to house the 35 prisoners he had at different county lock-ups. His budget for out-of-county housing for the year is $75,000, which will be gone in about six weeks.

Some problems with the jail were known. Several were discovered following the July 25 escape, the second in a week. DeLay said the first escape was due to inattention by staff. The second came after a prisoner got through two doors that should have stopped him, then over a fence that also should have been a better deterrent.

After the second escape, the jail was put on lockdown, always an unpopular move with prisoners. DeLay said he had about 25 prisoners at the time. Four or five started "yelling and screaming," instigating a small uprising. One prisoner had a lighter, set a sheet on fire and hung it on the bars.

Jail staff discovered prisoners had gotten out of their cells. The electrical system was then damaged, plunging the facility into darkness.

"That was when we realized we had a serious problem," said DeLay. "It flabbergasts me someone would set fire to something in a concrete building. It's not going to cause damage. It's just a whole different mentality."

Around 20 officers assembled and moved into the jail carrying flashlights and tasers. The sheriff said they met no resistance. Most of the prisoners had returned to their cells and said they wanted no trouble. DeLay said the situation offered no guarantees of safety for either his staff or the prisoners and thus he went to the county commissioners to have the jail closed.

The potential for an electrical problem was known, DeLay said. Conduits with wiring run along the ceiling and into jail cells that have lights. Prisoners pulled down the accessible wiring and blew the building's fuses.

The sheriff said most of the conduit will have to be replaced. His staff is seeking bids from local welders for installing wire mesh on the suspended ceilings that will keep the wiring out of reach.

Prior to the incident it had not been known that prisoners could use a butter knife from meal supplies to jimmy the locks on the jail cells.

"Had we known something was wrong with the doors, we'd have been working on that," DeLay said. "This may have been a blessing. If they had not played their trump card in opening the doors now, it could have happened in a more serious situation and someone could have gotten hurt."

DeLay and Jail Supervisor Doug Smedley have been looking for solutions. The only vendor to respond to the lock problem so far recommended putting on new cell doors. The motorized sliding doors would discard the old "skeleton key" lock system now in use.

Another vendor may have other ideas, DeLay said. If not, the jail has 10 cell doors plus doors to the day room, visiting room and main emergency exit to replace at a cost of around $75,000. If replacement doors were ordered, the vendor said it would take 30 to 60 days to manufacture them, let alone install them.

"We could re-open the jail in October if we're lucky," DeLay said. "It will probably be the first of the year."

After the second escape, DeLay said it was discovered the control panel in dispatch did not control all the gates and hasn't for some time. A buzzer or alarm on the main exit door could also have helped tip officers that an escape was underway. A repairman has been summoned to work on the control panel.

Several toilets in the jail got plugged in the uprising. Besides getting a plumber in, DeLay said the building has had a mold problem. Now he can get a cleaning company in to hose down the facility with high pressure water at the same time.

The old locking system using little key pads was too easy to witness, the sheriff said. He hopes to replace them with a pass key or card swipe. Some concrete walls have been dug out by prisoners and will need repairs. DeLay further called the jail's fence "old and dilapidated." He plans to replace the fence as well.

DeLay said he and the commissioners plan to meet on Wednesdays to track progress at the jail. The jail's maintenance budget for the year has already been surpassed. Commissioners are presently scambling for funds to make the latest repairs while expenses for alternatives mount.

The new arrangement poses a number of challenges, DeLay said. Officers complete bookings at the county jail, then jailers have to take prisoners either to Aurora or Monett for short-term incarceration or to another county.

"The staff is working long nights for all kinds of different transports," DeLay said. "With Law Day coming up, we'll have to shuffle guys back and forth, stretching our staff pretty thin."

One special needs prisoner was taken as far away as Kansas City. The rest are in two nearby county jails, said the sheriff.

DeLay has also asked the Missouri State Highway Patrol to conduct an independent investigation into the recent escapes. He said it is possible serious policy violations contributed to what happened, which needs to be determined.

Delay said he hoped to have 75 percent of the repairs done by the end of the month, not enough to re-open the jail.

"I'm not trying to point a finger at who's responsible for this situation," DeLay said. "It's just a worn-down old jail, just one of those things. I'm trying to get a grip on everything that's happened. Everything seems to have all come to a head at once. It turned out to be a lot worse than we thought. We're doing what we think we need to do."