Feds could fix ‘Iryna’s Law’ crowding in Charlotte jail
The federal government soon could be footing the bill to help fix jammed jails caused by North Carolina lawmakers and “Iryna’s Law.”
The Republican-authored bill was signed by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein in October following Ukrainian-refugee Iryna Zarutska’s death aboard Charlotte’s light rail train. The law aimed to tighten pretrial release programs and secure public safety after a man stabbed Zarutska to death, unprovoked.
Last month, Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry McFadden said the law had caused Charlotte’s jail to creep over capacity. To fix the mess, which worsened conditions inside the main Mecklenburg County Detention Center, McFadden announced May 19 he was reopening an old jail known as Jail North.
How he would do that — and with what money — remained unclear. McFadden’s announcement came after the county passed its budget, which didn’t include funds for the added jail. An internal email obtained by The Charlotte Observer last week suggests the funding could come from housing federal inmates the sheriff once exiled from Mecklenburg County.
Tensions about federal inmates in Charlotte
John Baker, the federal public defender for the Western District of North Carolina, emailed lawyers who work and accept court-appointed clients in the region’s federal District Courts in late May confirming that men detained and awaiting state and federal court hearings will “be housed at Jail North once it reopens.”
Jail North previously had 72 beds for teenagers, but Baker wrote in his email that up to 350 federal detainees would eventually be held there. He heralded the development as “a vast improvement over our current detention situation.”
No federal detainees are currently housed in Mecklenburg County. They used to be, but McFadden backed out of that arrangement with the federal government nearly three years ago when U.S. marshals refused to change the rate he got for housing a federal inmate from $160 to $191 per day.
“I believe it is not responsibility of the Sheriff’s Office to subsidize the federal government with county resources,” McFadden said at the time.
At the last agreed $160-per-day rate, housing 350 federal inmates for a year would result in a more than $20 million check from the federal government. The money from the government covers housing, medical, food and other programs for the people in federal custody.
Since McFadden ended his partnership with the U.S. marshals, federal inmates have been scattered across nearby states, including Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia.
In a phone interview, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said he and McFadden started talking about “bringing the federal dollars ... back home to Charlotte” months ago.
“The sheriff got his team together and got it put together really quickly,” Ferguson said. “Me, the marshals and the sheriff all have a shared goal of putting federal inmates there, either later this summer or early this fall.”
The Trump-appointed U.S. attorney and Charlotte native said: “I think federal money is a key part to reopening Jail North,” before adding: “You may want to verify that with the sheriff.”
McFadden’s office was less than transparent this week about the plan.
McFadden’s public information officers three times told the Observer there was no agreement to house federal inmates in place and declined to make the sheriff available for an interview. After the newspaper said it would be reporting Baker’s internal email and Ferguson’s comments, McFadden acknowledged the possibility of a partnership with the federal government in a late Friday statement.
In that statement, McFadden said: “Despite numerous discussions, a formal contract or agreement has not been established, nor has the exact number of federal detainees been disclosed. Nevertheless, we have engaged in highly productive conversations. ... A potential federal partnership with the U.S. Marshal Service serves as an example of the collaborative approach law enforcement agencies should adopt when addressing public safety without hidden agendas. We also remain open to additional conversations regarding our incarcerated juvenile population, mainly those from Mecklenburg County.”
Jail North previously housed teens charged with crimes before McFadden closed it in 2022, citing staffing problems at the main uptown jail. McFadden has entertained the idea of reopening the doors and keeping it a juvenile jail but abruptly stepped away from negotiations with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
How Jail North’s reopening will be funded has not been officially announced. Until it opens, the currently overcrowded Mecklenburg County Detention Center will remain the main jail for people awaiting trial in the county.
