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Jail Project
Right to Counsel | Project Description |
Jail Project Vignettes
Funding | Housing Costs Saved |
Newspaper Articles
This project, set up to reduce jail overcrowding, helps pretrial detainees at
the Greenville County Detention Center, which now consists of four
facilities located at McGee Street in Greenville.
Lawyers are appointed to represent all indigent
defendants charged with General Sessions (“high court”) charges, but
defendants charged in city or magistrate court (“low court”) were rarely
provided court appointed lawyers. Without legal assistance these
inmates being held until trial often do not know their rights, how to
submit guilty pleas, how to get a lawyer or how to have their bonds
lowered. Many of these inmates spend days, weeks, or longer in jail, even when they are not guilty of the crime charged.
The Jail Project helps with all of these issues and more.
During 2007, the project was effective to the point
that we reduced the burden on Greenville County taxpayers by an
estimated $250,000 in jail housing costs. The project continued to be effective in 2008 by saving taxpayers more than $500,000.
Considering that our total funding for 2007 and 2008 was $35,000 and $30,000 respectively, we feel this was a pretty good return
on the investment.
As a long-range goal Law In Action would like to see
the Greenville County Council assume responsibility for this work,
either by taking over the project totally or providing full local
funding.
To read specific cases in which we were involved, click here.
In 2007 we used funding from the
South Carolina Bar Foundation
and the Community Foundation of Greenville (Hollingsworth Funds, Inc.) to
greatly increase our effectiveness and scope. The South Carolina Bar Foundation has continued to support the Jail Project in
2008-2009 by awarding Law in Action a $30,000 grant. We thank both organizations for their support.
Year |
Housing Costs Saved |
| 2010 |
$77,255 |
| 2009 |
$236,791 |
| 2008 |
$508,259 |
| 2007 |
$262,290 |
Total |
$1,084,595 |
For more information about the Jail Project, please see the following articles:
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