BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE AUTAUGA NEWS
As of 11:30 p.m. Thursday night all inmates of the Autauga County Metro Jail had been safely removed and transported to other agencies. Autauga County Sheriff Mark Harrell announced Thursday he was ordering the evacuation of all inmates for health and safety concerns.
“Currently the jail staff is compiling a list of inmates and the facilities in which they were transferred to. We are also currently making sure all inmate property gets to them in timely fashion,” Harrell said in a statement earlier today.
He asked for everyone to allow time for the staff to complete the process. The sheriff’s office has posted information on their Facebook page for attorneys, as well as family members.
If you have questions about the reason behind the transfer of inmates, the sheriff said all questions should be directed to the Autauga County Commission office or your commissioner.
“I would like to thank all sheriffs of the state of Alabama that assisted in the transfer of these inmates and housing them in their facilities,” Sheriff Harrell said. “Thank you to the Alabama Department of Corrections for their assistance in the transfer of inmates. I also would like to thank the City of Prattville and the Police Department for their understanding as we work through this process. Thanks to all the citizens that have shown your support for my staff at the Autauga Metro Jail. I will ensure that the staff are taken care of as well as the inmates that we have an obligation to care for.”
As for future people arrested that would normally be housed in the Metro Jail, there is a plan in place, Harrell said. Those that would bond out in under 48 hours will be sent to Lowndes County. Felony arrests will be housed in other facilities across the state.
Harrell was able to speak to the EAN and answer several questions.
One of those is what happens to the jail staff, which has around 20 jailers and other administrative personnel if the jail remains closed long term?
Harrell told the EAN that jail staff will stay employed, though perhaps in different duties.
They can be utilized in areas such as court security, transporting of prisoners to and from jail or medical appointments, and to help with bookings for other agencies. There will still be two holding cells in operation at the Autauga County Courthouse, located on the second floor above the sheriff’s office, which is not connected to the jail. He will also have to have personnel conduct regular patrols of the jail to watch for possible fires.
“As for the jail staff, I refuse to let them down. This is not their fault, and they are my employees. I could not continue to allow inmates and staff to remain in an area with health hazards and safety issues,” Harrell said.
Harrell said he has stayed in touch with the Autauga County Commission and requested help with jail maintenance issues. He said this was not a decision he wanted to make, but he could no longer put the health and safety of prisoners and staff in jeopardy.
With the current state of the jail being closed due to health and safety concerns, there are extra expenses that the sheriff must deal with as well.
Jail staff will have to travel to individual jail facilities across the state for a variety of reasons for individual inmate’s court appearances, doctor and mental health appointments, etc.
The sheriff is also having to move equipment out of the jail into the sheriff’s office, such as the breathalyzer for DUI arrests, and Smart Scan technology.
“There are a lot of parts to this, but we are doing the best we can. We could not avoid it any longer.”
Perhaps the biggest question is how long could this last before maintenance issues are addressed and the sheriff feels the facility is again safe?
He referred to Choctaw County, which had a similar shut down five years ago. The jail still remains closed. Related story – https://www.wtok.com/content/news/Choctaw-County-Jail-closed-inmates-moved-512948361.html
“We are hoping not to see anything like that, and that the issues will be addressed very soon,” Harrell said. “I am responsible for the health and welfare of the inmates and the staff. The Autauga County Commission is in charge of building maintenance.”
This can be found under Alabama Code.
Section 11-14-10
Duty to erect courthouses, jails, hospitals, and other county buildings.
The county commission shall erect courthouses, jails, and hospitals and other necessary county buildings, and such county commission shall have authority to levy a special tax for that purpose. Each county within the state shall be required to maintain a jail within their county.
The EAN has reached out to Autauga County Commissioners for comment. The issue of alleged problems in the jail has not been on the agenda for any recent Commission meetings. To our knowledge, there have been no executive sessions in regard to concerns or maintenance with the jail in recent memory.
The only official response from the commission as of this reporting is below which was emailed to us Thursday along with other media.
Scott Kramer, Administrator
June 6, 2024 Autauga County Commission
PRATTVILLE, AL – Autauga County Administrator Scott Kramer issued the following statement this morning regarding the Autauga County Metro Jail.
“The County Commission is aware of certain facility issues at the Autauga County Metro Jail. We have been working diligently, and in good faith, with Sheriff Harrell and his staff to address their important concerns; we will continue to do so and ask him and his staff to do the same. Just this week the County Commission had workers in the building to assess and attempt to address those concerns. We have also had multiple experts inspect the facility. We will persist to make improvements, but within the scope of the law and the resources available to us, to ensure the wellbeing of anyone – inmate, staff, law enforcement officer, or member of the public – who enters the jail.
We will be making no further comments at this time.”
