Increase in inmates prompts concern

Broward’s jail population climbing again as pandemic continues

In the first weeks of the pandemic, Broward officials worked together to empty local jails of all but the most serious offenders, and it appeared to work. By the middle of April 2020, the jail population dropped to under 3,000 for the first time in decades.

It couldn’t last forever, and it hasn’t. The number is climbing again, leading to concern among some that backlog caused by the pandemic could end up helping the disease spread among inmates.

So far, two inmates have reportedly died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and more than 140 cases have been identified.

“There are many worries that we have about the ability of COVID to spread in the jails,” said Marq Mitchell, founder of the inmate advocacy group Chainless Change. The population figures don’t reflect how many inmates are coming in and how many are leaving after a short stay, he said. “We don’t know if an inmate has COVID until they’re tested. How many people have they exposed by the time they get the result?”

The daily jail population was already declining slowly when the pandemic hit, from 3,790 in July 2019 to 3,600 on March 1, 2020. Six weeks later, after a concerted effort, the number plummeted to 2,989. At its low point, it reached 2,920 in late July 2020.

Now it’s back on the rise. In late August, it was over 3,000 again. This week it was back up to 3,435, which is a little over 79 percent of the four jails’ capacity.

Two factors are fueling the slow but steady increase. One is the absence of jury trials, which serve to clear local cells by shipping convicted inmates to state prison and by freeing the convicted. The other factor, according to Chief Administrative Judge Jack Tuter, is the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions.

“We were able to keep the numbers down while the county was on lockdown and curfew,” Tuter said. “When the lockdowns and curfews were lifted, we started to see the numbers rise.”

The backlog caused by the elimination of jury trials can be measured at least in part by tracking the jail’s “750-day list,” the accounting of inmates who’ve been in custody for a little over two years. They are usually charged with serious felonies and often held without bond.

A year ago, there were about 240 inmates on the list: accused killers, violent sex offenders and career criminals. The number climbed a little or dipped a little from month to month until last March, when the pandemic cut off the outflow.

The latest available figure shows 374 inmates on the list, and unless plea deals are reached, the number won’t go down until jury trials return.

Plans for jury trials are being written solely in pencil. “We were expecting to start some reopening in January and continuing slowly as the year went on,” Tuter said. “But the [statewide COVID-19 infection] numbers we’re getting are trending in the wrong direction. We don’t know exactly when things will change.”

Still, inmates, victims and their families are waiting. One of the highest priorities, Tuter said, is the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School case — in which 17 people were murdered at the Parkland school on Valentine’s Day 2018, and another 17 physically injured. Confessed gunman Nikolas Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.

Concerns about COVID-19 transmission have derailed the basic pretrial information gathering that would have taken place, including mental health evaluations that are expected to play a defining role in the defense case.

Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer had hoped to have the trial underway last year. Now Tuter is talking about starting up this summer at the earliest.

“I have to give Cruz a trial date,” Tuter said. “That case needs to be tried because it is going to put a strain on the system.”

Former Broward State Attorney Mike Satz and his chief deputy, Jeff Marcus, are remaining on the case, which will eliminate the costly, inefficient need to bring another prosecutor up to speed on the evidence.

Other defendants waiting for their day in court include Marcus Lumsdon, accused of killing two gas station store clerks in Pompano Beach in 2007, and James Moncur and David Fletcher, each charged with a 2011 murder police described as a marijuana deal gone bad.

Lumsdon’s case is the oldest on the 750 day list; he has been in custody for more than 13 years. Jury selection began in November 2019 for the fourth time but was stopped when his defense lawyer suffered a minor stroke. Now the case is back on hold indefinitely.

Tuter and Broward Public Defender Gordon Weekes said they have not heard from official sources when a vaccine might be made available to judges, lawyers, courthouse personnel and inmates, but neither is expecting it or even requesting it.

“At some point in time they’re going to have to contemplate whether folks who are in custody should be vaccinated,” Weekes said. “Everyone is recognizing that vaccination is important, but it is not appropriate to jockey for priority over first responders, the elderly and people who have pre-existing conditions.”

Tuter said when it comes to vaccinations, judges are “on hold with everybody else. Nobody is going to be jumping to the front of the line just because they wear a robe.”