MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office announced that there have been 12 in-custody deaths this year.
“Many of the people who enter the jail are already carrying the heavy weight of poverty, chronic illness, addiction, and a lifetime of limited access to healthcare,” said Sheriff Floyd Bonner, Jr. “These struggles don’t start in jail custody – they begin in the neighborhoods we all share. The jail, in many ways, becomes the place where the consequences of long-standing community problems finally surface.”
Sheriff Bonner said bookings have increased at 201 Poplar and Jail East by 14% in September. Arrests in both facilities were up by 42% compared to last October. The Memphis Safe Task Force was deployed in October…