How much longer will it be before the cost of defending (and settling) lawsuits associated with the Northumberland County Prison exceed the construction bills to build a new jail? The jail is the focus of three lawsuits: a classaction that suggests conditions in the facility are "medieval"; a civil rights case filed by a former Milton man who claims he was thrown down the steps of the prison when he tried to report for a stint in jail; and a wrongful dismissal claim filed by a former deputy warden who says he was targeted because he made critical comments in the newspaper.
The merits of those cases will be determined by the legal system, but the pattern is clear even if all the questions about the shenanigans at the jail remain unanswered.
Some of the prison's problems have been resolved by the change in management with the appointment last summer of Warden Roy Johnson.
No matter who runs the prison, the facility is still 133-years-old, which may not be exactly “medieval,” but it is still far short of modern.
For all its warts, the county prison has one charm for county officials — it is relatively inexpensive to operate. Northumberland County spent under $3.4 million operating the jail in 2008. That amounts to roughly $43 a day, per inmate.
When it comes to budgeting, a cheap, medieval prison is an easier pill to swallow.
Until a judge comes along and declares that the county has run afoul of a little document called the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Snyder County's prison is operating at two-thirds capacity — and paying $87 a day to house each inmate, because of it. Union County has almost as many inmates housed in other county's prisons as it does in the Lewisburg jail, according to Department of Corrections records.
Let's review: One prison is outdated with little obvious room for expansion; another is too small; and a third is under-capacity and stands all by itself in a country field.
Regional jail discussions have never progressed past the initial, vague agreeement that the idea is worth exploring. And yet, no one bothers to explore it. All three counties could benefit from a joint facility. Northumberland County — with its checkered history and legal target on its back — is the obvious choice to take the lead.
