MADISON, Wis. — Dane Co. Sheriff Kalvin Barrett was joined by three of his predecessors Tuesday morning to call on the Dane County Board to approve a referendum to build a new Dane County Jail.
“Come in and we’ll give you a tour and show you the cell that we had to shut down last week because our resident took toilet paper and was clogging up a crack in their cell because water from the shower was leaking into it,” Barrett said.
Barrett was joined by former Dane Co. Sheriffs Dave Mahoney, Gary Hamblin and Rick Raemisch for a press conference Tuesday. While the four may be on different spots on the political spectrum, they all feel strongly about one thing: the jail needs to be redone, and soon.
“I think it’s a sad commentary that four sheriffs should be advocating for the inmates,” Hamblin said.
The City-County building was built in the 1950s. At that time, the jail there was intended to separate inmates from the community, leaving today’s inmates in 6×6 boxes with no rehabilitation or fresh air.
“We can do better, and this decision falls on the shoulders of 37 county board supervisors who, on Thursday, will decide to either continue their action paralysis or move this to the public’s decision,” Mahoney said.
The sheriffs said the last time they were all together was for a funeral, which is what Raemisch said they’re trying to avoid not only for their inmates but also for their prison staff.
“I got one of the worst calls a sheriff can get, Sheriff Raemisch, one of your deputies has just been taken hostage in the Dane County jail,” Raemisch said.
Limited space, too, means the Sheriff’s Office can’t provide other services to those in the jail, a majority of whom come in with addiction and mental illness.
“And those are the types of things that, if they’re brought to us, it’s our duty and obligation to try and treat them and make them healthy again, because that makes a safer community,” Raemisch said.
If the board approves the referendum, it’ll be in your hands as voters — something Barrett and Dane Co. Executive Joe Parisi have been pushing for over the last year.
The sheriffs urged residents to tour the facility and decide whether they would want their loved ones to live in those conditions before making that vote.
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