A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.
Flathead County’s jail is overcrowded, so the county commissioners want to convert the old Walmart building on Highway 2 east to a new jail. A wag on Facebook beat me to the punch with “Jade Helm comes to the Flathead.”
Converting a big box store to a secure slammer will cost millions. In fact, I suspect the conversion might cost more than building a new calaboose on an open field.
A better solution is putting fewer people in jail. Currently, there are 96 persons in the Flathead’s quod (jail roster). That might not eliminate the need for more cells, but a smaller jail would cost less. Many of the people behind the Flathead’s bars are incarcerated for drug offenses. Others appear to be imprisoned for non-violent offenses. Do all of these people really pose such a threat to society that they must be locked up?
America, and that includes the Flathead, puts too many people in prison, especially for drug offenses. The War on Drugs is a failure that now serves mainly to (a) provide employment for prison guards and police officers, (b) businesses for firms that test for drugs, and (c) an excuse to keep black men from voting in states like Florida.