Benjamin Stevenson, attorney for ACLU of Florida, discussed his recommendations on how to reduce overcrowding in the Escambia County Jail on “Pensacola Speaks.”
“We were looking at bail reform throughout the state. Obviously this is a particular, urgent need here in Escambia where we’re sending over 200 people from our jail outside the county to Walton County at the cost of over $5 million a year,” he said.
“That coupled with a DOJ report raising concerns about the number of guards we have versus the number of inmates. Also the explosion and the county’s consideration of building a new jail, we just thought that Escambia may be a good place to think about bail reform.”
