SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) A year after a southwestern Missouri county began using trailers to house inmates amid jail overcrowding, more than 100 men are being held in the trailers and officials in other areas of the country are eyeing the program.
But some legal experts argue that Greene County’s program has raised major red flags and caution that the crowded conditions could be considered inhumane.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that Greene County heralded the program as the first of its kind when it launched about a year ago. County officials said it was a temporary, cost-effective solution to jail overcrowding.
The operation currently includes six trailers surrounded by a chain-link fence.
Sheriff Jim Arnott acknowledges the setup isn’t ideal and that he wants more space in a permanent facility, but he says the facility is by no means inhumane.
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