MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Protestors fed up with the conditions inside the Shelby County Jail gathered Downtown Monday demanding change. FOX13 has shared a series of issues at 201 Poplar, including overcrowding, staffing shortages, broken utilities, fights in the intake area, and inmate deaths.
“No one should die while in custody, and especially someone who is legally presumed innocent and has not been convicted of any crime,” said Tyler Foster, Vice President of Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH). “Dozens of people have passed away while in custody over the last few years. And yet, despite this, there has been no material change to the way we approach justice in Shelby County.”
Foster was among the protestors demanding immediate change to the jail. Some of the short-term demands include taking immediate action to process people out of intake within 48 hours; ensuring that once a release is ordered, inmates are released within 24 hours; and taking immediate action to radically improve conditions in intake, including hiring additional medical staff, and ensuring access to phones, showers and legal counsel…