Macomb Inmates Slated for Early Release to Ease Overcrowding

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Some inmates could be released from the Macomb County Jail today to ease overcrowding.

Sheriff Anthony Wickersham, who declared an overcrowding emergency at the aging jail on June 2, is awaiting authority to release inmates from the Macomb County Circuit Court chief judge, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The jail, which opened in 1954, is designed to hold 1,193 inmates, but populations have been between 1,250 and 1,260 inmates, prompting the overcrowding emergency. It’s the 15th such declaration since 2003.

In November, 71 inmates were released to ease overcrowding. The prisoners who were released had been convicted of community correction-eligible offenses and weren’t thought to pose a high risk to the public’s safety.

Chief Judge James Biernat was expected to finalize the list of inmates to be released Wednesday. He told The Macomb Daily those tabbed for release won’t be “armed robbers or those charged with sex crimes.” They’ll most likely be prisoners convicted of nonviolent offenses such as marijuana possession, disorderly conduct or driving offenses. Inmates who are already scheduled for release this month will also likely be on the list.

Each person will be considered individually. Biernat’s approach differs from that of his predecessor, former chief judge John Foster, whose 20-percent across-the-board cut prompted the early release of a woman who had been convicted of drunken driving causing serious injury, sparking criticism from a victim’s family member and Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith.

A consultant has been hired for $240,000 to conduct a year-long feasibility and needs study to help county officials decide what to do about the jail, whose rated capacity was reduced by 20 beds in November. About $8 million in repairs are needed over the next few years.

Options include building a new jail, renovating the current one or building a central intake facility. The study should be concluded early next year.

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