Judge stops sending convicts to jail, but for good reason
Recent incidents are causing the judge to question whether or not it is wise to place them in the Cleveland lockup
A Cleveland judge is fed up with the Cuyahoga County Jail and vows not to send any more suspects to jail following the deaths of six inmates who died in the last four months, Cleveland.com reports.
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Only those charged with serious crimes will be sent to jail, Cleveland Municipal Judge Michael Nelson determined. He no longer thinks the jail is sufficient — or safe enough — to send inmates without risking their lives because of the wave of deaths.
Nelson told cleveland.com Tuesday that the jail deaths “disturbed him” and he’s uncomfortable setting bonds at this time for people charged with less violent crimes.
“The first thing I did this morning when I saw [the Cleveland.com] story is look to see if it was someone I sent to jail,” Nelson said. “I’m giving personal bonds to everyone from now on unless they’re the worst of the worst until things get figured out at the jail.”
Personal bonds would allow the accused to leave the courtroom without being required to post a bond.
Nelson plans to convene with the court’s administrative judge, Michelle Earley, to investigate the string of deaths.
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Earley later said in an emailed statement that she has set up a meeting with jail officials.
“Both the warden of the county jail and the Chief of Public Safety for Cuyahoga County have agreed to meet with me so that the Court can get a better understanding of what is going on with the jail, what has happened in these situations and what plans the jail has/will implement to prevent further inmate deaths in the facility,” Earley’s statement said.
Allan Martin Gomez, 44, died on Wednesday, after just four days after getting booked. Gomez became the sixth innate to die in the past few months.
Gomez’s bond was set for $1,500 and needed only $150 to be released. Two other inmates were found hanged. They reportedly committed suicide and two other inmates had drugs in their system when they died.
