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Smith County appears headed for jail-bond rejection hat trick

Somehow Smith County Judge Joel Baker (the head of the commissioners court, not a magistrate) thinks that two overwhelming defeats for local jail bonds means the public really supports a "scaled-down" jail, but they won't support non-carceral strategies to reduce overcrowding.Why, one wonders? Did you ever consider, Judge Baker, that when voters twice rejected jail bonds by overwhelming margins that they might have wanted you to go in a different direction?Repeatedly Baker and Co. have rejected that chance in favor of a quixotic jail building quest, and they did so again this week. Tyler District Judge Cynthia Kent on Monday argued in vain for the commissioners court to avoid a jail-bond rejection hat trick. Reported the Tyler Morning Telegraph ("Smith County commissioners rule out new court facilities," June 3): Judge Kent attended Monday?s Commissioners Court meeting to make the case that new courts facilities would do more to relieve jail overcrowding than new jail space...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on June 04, 2008 (boomark / email).