‘Inhumane conditions:’ Clerk Tami Sawyer worried about inmates at 201 as judges say ‘no’ to additional operations
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer expressed concern for the inmates at the Shelby County Jail, as judges have said “no” to Saturday and night court.
“201 Poplar and Jail East, those are people who are being detained before they are convicted. Whether they committed the crime or not, no matter what your judgment is about crime, these are people who have yet to be convicted and they are living in very, dare I say, inhumane conditions,” she said.
Earlier this week, Sawyer went before Shelby County Commissioners and shared that judges have said “no” to Saturday and night court, along with other possibilities like virtual warrant clinics.
“They don’t believe that they need an additional court or a docket. Again, we’re watching court end at 5, 6, 7, 8 o’clock with no overtime budget, no comp time budget,” said Sawyer.
Sawyer said if they did open a Saturday court, or any additional operation, it would be funded thanks to Mayor Lee Harris’ office.
Again, Sawyer said the judges are refusing any option and have also been barely involved in conversations about finding a solution.
“The judges come, you know, but they push it back kind of like a kickball. You know, and who’s going to lose the kickball game, and I don’t want the community to be the kickball. I want us to come together,” said Sawyer.
She said she’s not trying to throw anyone under the bus and instead is trying to be transparent about why nothing has been implemented to help with the continued arrests.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy sent out his weekly newsletter Friday afternoon and said the daily General Sessions dockets have increased by about 50%.
Mulroy said his office has also met with Sawyer, along with other justice system officials, and they have not been able to achieve unanimity among everyone.
Mulroy said that with the increased caseload, they need to try innovative ideas. He said no one idea would fix everything, but they could help. Mulroy also stated his office is ready to participate in any of the approaches and clarified that it is not limited to just one.
Mulroy said they have started looking at lists of hundreds of cases of low-level offenses of people currently in jail. He said they are looking to see if those defendants really need to be in jail.
Mulroy said this approach seems promising, and they’ve identified over a dozen cases that qualify.
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