MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Problems continue at the Shelby County Jail as aging infrastructure is now causing plumbing issues and leaks, air conditioning is intermittently down and cell door locks are broken.

“I’ve gotten emails from family members about 201 Poplar about the lack of air conditioning and the plumbing issues,” said Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon. “They’re sleeping on the floor with boats because it’s so crowded.”

Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon believes something needs to be done about the Shelby County Jail.

She says some inmates are willing to plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit just to get out and move around.

“We have significant water main issues,” said Shelby County Deputy Sheriff Anthony Buckner.

On Friday, Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner told Action News 5 that $4 million worth of repairs are currently needed to fix problems with the plumbing and locks on cell doors on the “most dangerous” floors.

“There are a number of leaks throughout the prison that we are trying to fix,” said Chief Deputy Buckner. “But then we also have the problem that our cell doors don’t lock.”

Shelby County Commissioners approved $345,000 in May for jail cell door motors after the sheriff’s office discovered that 100 locks were not locking automatically.

Deputy Chief Buckner says the new money they need is not included in the sheriff’s office or county budget.

County officials, including Sheriff Floyd Bonner, said the county needs a new jail.

“Simply fixing these things or putting a Band-Aid on them will not solve the problem,” said Commissioner Sugarmon.

Sugarmon says requests from the federal and state governments for assistance in building such an institute have been rejected.

“There’s mold in the shower,” said Fanzano Hampton, a former prison inmate. “You have to beg for a shower curtain.”

Commissioner Sugarmon believes that a property tax increase could allow for the construction of a new jail, but that more pressing issues such as addressing poverty and the needs of county residents would be a top priority.

“The building is very old,” said a Memphis resident who visited the prison on Friday and asked not to be identified. “Something needs to be done. They’re spending more money on it, so just move it somewhere else.”

According to Commissioner Sugarmon, a third of the prison population suffers from mental health or drug problems.

Commissioners also recently approved a $2.7 million contract with the Cocaine and Alcohol Awareness Program Inc. for Tennessee Voices to provide inpatient psychiatric and drug counseling services to individuals referred from the county’s veterans, mental health or drug courts.

“We are looking into how we can achieve this,” said Commissioner Sugarmon. “Ultimately, seven votes are needed. We also need to gain the support of the population.”

The sheriff’s office told Action News 5 that it had hired about 100 jail guards from July 2023 to July 2024, but was still short about 350 jail guards.

When asked about possible overcrowding, a sheriff’s office spokesperson stated that the current jail population is just over 2,500 inmates and 201 Poplar’s capacity is 2,800 inmates.

The spokesperson also told Action News 5 that county emergency services would need to be asked for a timeline on when the water and plumbing issues at the jail would be fixed.

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