ACLU attorney tours Monroe County jail amid settlement extension talks

On Tuesday (Nov. 25) before Thanksgiving, ACLU attorney Ken Falk took a tour of the Monroe County jail. The jail is located on the top floors of the county’s justice center, which is located on the northwest corner of College Avenue and 7th Street.

The background for the visit was the settlement agreement to a lawsuit that was filed in 2008 about overcrowding issues at the jail. Falk was the lead attorney in the lawsuit. The settlement agreement has been extended several times, most recently through Jan. 15, 2026.

County officials are now looking at a possible renewal of the agreement, which includes reporting requirements and notification of judges when the jail population reaches a certain threshold. It does not explicitly require the construction of a new jail.

However, county commissioners have expressed concern about a recent vote by the county council—to reject the needed appropriation for purchase of the North Park real estate planned for a new jail and justice center. Commissioners fear it could lead to an eventual scenario where decisions about a new jail facility could wind up in the hands of a federal judge instead of local officials.

Besides Falk, making the Tuesday walkthrough were: Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté; jail commander Kyle Gibbons; county commissioners Julie Thomas and Jody Madeira; county council members Trent Deckard, Kate Wiltz and Liz Feitl; and jail transition team director Todd Smith.

Before the visit, Marté gave Falk a written report on the current status of the jail, which underscores the idea that renovating the building is not a feasible solution. From the report:

In closing, renovation of the current jail is impractical. Every available area of the building is fully occupied. Because additional square footage cannot be created, the installation of more beds or cells is not feasible. Expanding housing capacity would eliminate—and in some cases already nonexistent—areas designated for medical and mental health services, programming, and recreation. Conversely, removing cells or beds to create such space would further exacerbate overcrowding in a facility that already lacks adequate housing for inmate care, safety and custody standards.

The report revealed a significant structural deficiency for some of the walls in the jail. From the report: “Multiple cells and corridor walls have been found to be fully unattached and capable of being moved by hand. To mitigate immediate risks, these walls have been temporarily stabilized using steel bracing secured to adjacent structural components.”

That security issue with the walls comes on top of the discovery last year of outdated locks on cell doors that could easily be defeated. About the locks, chief deputy sheriff Phil Parker said at a council council meeting in June 2024: “Let me tell you how defeatable they are. … I spent 10 minutes, and I was able to defeat that lock.”

Parker added at the time: “And, more importantly, there's more than one way to defeat it. And as you know, the folks that are in there, they have a considerable amount of time to figure these things out. And they're doing it.” That year, county commissioners added $500,000 to the planned ARPA expenditures to repair locks on cell doors.

County officials who walked through the jail with Falk reported a smooth visit.

County commissioner Jody Madeira told The B Square: “The tour went well. Ken [Falk] was very thoughtful and observant and took a lot of notes.” Madeira also said, “A lot of focus was on the aging building—things like exposed utilities, like plumbing, etc.” Madeira added that there was a lot of discussion about the elevator being a massive security and manpower concern since there is just the one elevator in the building.

A point of emphasis for Marté over the last couple years in discussion about the jail is the idea that the focus should be not on the raw number of beds but rather on the functional capacity of the jail. Madeira said that one of the points made during the walkthrough was that there are safety issues that arise from grouping people of different classifications together.

County councilor Kate Wiltz told The B Square, “I think everyone on that tour has a renewed understanding of the seriousness of the building’s condition. We walked through nearly the entire facility and had some very frank conversation about the jail, the good work the staff there are doing, and the irreparable structural damage in that space.”

Wiltz added, “It is clear that we must find a way forward—quickly—to create a safe, secure, and restorative facility.”

President of the board of commissioners Julie Thomas told The B Square, “The tour went well. Mr. Falk understands that renovations cannot possibly solve space needs issues.” She added, “ [Falk] noted how treatment reduces recidivism but we don’t have the space to provide requisite assistance.”

Thomas said that no date has been set to meet with Falk about extending the settlement agreement, but it would be a point of discussion at future meetings before the Jan. 15, 2026 expiration date of the settlement agreement. Thomas added, “We are waiting on the Council’s guidance, too.”

In the wake of the county council’s vote to reject the appropriation to purchase the North Park real estate as a location for the new jail, Thomas had put it like this: “So with that, ball’s in your court, council!” The county council is the fiscal body of the county.

As far as next steps, president of the county council Jennifer Crossley alluded to Thomas’s remarks when she told The B Square on Wednesday: “I think since it was floated to us about the ball being in our court, we (the council) will pick it up and do something with it.” Crossley indicated that some kind of resolution could be considered by the county council to make its position on new jail funding explicit, and hopes that it will be passed by the end of the year.

The next meeting of the county commissioners is set for Thursday, Dec. 4. The next meeting of the county council comes the following week, on Tuesday, Dec. 9.