Aug 1, 2003, We must never give up on our form of government. Too many military personnel have given their lives for our beloved nation. Keep faith in our democracy!
Georgia Attorney General
Thurbert E. Baker (D)
40 Capitol Square SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Dear Sir,
Capt. J. D. Yeager, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Officer said in the Valdosta Daily Times on 29 July 2003 (Jailhouse blues).
“There are major problems at the Lowndes C ounty Jail which resulted in living conditions that are bordering on inhumane and unsanitary levels.”
Finally, after fourteen (14) years of complaining, marches, protests, suits etc., someone finally acknowledged what Lowndes County citizens have known for years. The only question is how many people have been treated inhumane and required to live in these unsanitary conditions. It must be determined who is responsible for allowing these conditions to exist.
Massive problems with the plumbing. Most of the fixtures are so old that replacement parts are no longer available. Water runs nonstop in sections of the jail, creating safety hazards. In some cells, old toothpaste tubes are stuffed into showerheads in an attempt to stop leaks. Water fountain refuses to discharge any water.
The Staff has to pour acid down all of the drains to keep leeches and other pests from entering the jail, especially the shower areas. There is rusting of shower frames, which inmates are using to make shanks. No air condition leads to sweltering conditions well in excess of 100 degrees. Many of the windows no longer open. Oscillating fans just serve to push hot air around the building.
Cell locks are obsolete and the individual cells in the larger security pods can be opened with as little as a bedsheet or an identification card, giving the inmates undesired freedom of movement. Control boards, which serve as the jail’s nerve center, operating most of the doors in the building are also fading.
The kitchen is close to shutting down and having meals catered because the jail kitchen should be four times its present size. The Jail intake area was designed to handle only 120 people, though it often has to deal with as many as 500. No way to segregate male and female prisoners at the intake desk. Infirmary has negative airflow to handle infectious disease cases, and managing the medical needs of so many inmates has become a logistical nightmare. Transporting prisoners to court appearances are so inadequate that inmates are stacked in visiting areas.
Sewer lines are also corroded. City has put the Sheriff’s Office on notice that they will soon need its own lift station and grinder to keep solid waste out of the City Treatment System. Doors jambs are shifting, creating unstable doors, which could potentially be forced open.
Conditions are bad for inmates and could affect the jails 108 employees. Employees of the Lowndes County jail are being subjected to the same conditions as the inmates. We should have more respect for the well being of our employees than to mandate continued exposure to such conditions. The kitchen feeds six hundred inmates daily and was only designed to feed 80 in 1957.
A person with below average intelligence can see that people must have suffered in our correction facility---use common sense. It is strange how truth works itself to the surface. As Paul Harvey would say---wait for the rest of the story! Peace!
GEORGE B. RHYNES
Retired Military Veteran From Active Duty
A concerned citizen & brother of humanity
Georgia Attorney General
Thurbert E. Baker (D)
40 Capitol Square SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Dear Sir,
Capt. J. D. Yeager, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Officer said in the Valdosta Daily Times on 29 July 2003 (Jailhouse blues).
“There are major problems at the Lowndes C ounty Jail which resulted in living conditions that are bordering on inhumane and unsanitary levels.”
Finally, after fourteen (14) years of complaining, marches, protests, suits etc., someone finally acknowledged what Lowndes County citizens have known for years. The only question is how many people have been treated inhumane and required to live in these unsanitary conditions. It must be determined who is responsible for allowing these conditions to exist.
Massive problems with the plumbing. Most of the fixtures are so old that replacement parts are no longer available. Water runs nonstop in sections of the jail, creating safety hazards. In some cells, old toothpaste tubes are stuffed into showerheads in an attempt to stop leaks. Water fountain refuses to discharge any water.
The Staff has to pour acid down all of the drains to keep leeches and other pests from entering the jail, especially the shower areas. There is rusting of shower frames, which inmates are using to make shanks. No air condition leads to sweltering conditions well in excess of 100 degrees. Many of the windows no longer open. Oscillating fans just serve to push hot air around the building.
Cell locks are obsolete and the individual cells in the larger security pods can be opened with as little as a bedsheet or an identification card, giving the inmates undesired freedom of movement. Control boards, which serve as the jail’s nerve center, operating most of the doors in the building are also fading.
The kitchen is close to shutting down and having meals catered because the jail kitchen should be four times its present size. The Jail intake area was designed to handle only 120 people, though it often has to deal with as many as 500. No way to segregate male and female prisoners at the intake desk. Infirmary has negative airflow to handle infectious disease cases, and managing the medical needs of so many inmates has become a logistical nightmare. Transporting prisoners to court appearances are so inadequate that inmates are stacked in visiting areas.
Sewer lines are also corroded. City has put the Sheriff’s Office on notice that they will soon need its own lift station and grinder to keep solid waste out of the City Treatment System. Doors jambs are shifting, creating unstable doors, which could potentially be forced open.
Conditions are bad for inmates and could affect the jails 108 employees. Employees of the Lowndes County jail are being subjected to the same conditions as the inmates. We should have more respect for the well being of our employees than to mandate continued exposure to such conditions. The kitchen feeds six hundred inmates daily and was only designed to feed 80 in 1957.
A person with below average intelligence can see that people must have suffered in our correction facility---use common sense. It is strange how truth works itself to the surface. As Paul Harvey would say---wait for the rest of the story! Peace!
GEORGE B. RHYNES
Retired Military Veteran From Active Duty
A concerned citizen & brother of humanity
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