Commissioner Lumon May has been handling dozens of calls from the families – white and black – of those prisoners caught in the April 29 explosion at the Central Booking and Detention…
Category: Jail
Report of gas leak shuts down Escambia County Sheriff’s dispatch temporarily
We received a phone call that the Escambia County Sheriff’s Administration building was being evacuated tonight. I called Commission Chairman Lumon May and he had not heard of any problems from county…
ECSO shut off the gas to CBD after 2012 flood
In the days after the county’s Central Booking and Detention exploded, county officials were telling commissioners, away from the public, that the gas explosion would have occurred whether the county or Sheriff…
County explains why it rebuilt the CBD basement to ‘pre-flood’ conditions
Yesterday, I posted a November 2012 letter (ObjectionbySheriff ) from Sheriff David Morgan to Interim County Administrator Larry Newsom. At the time, the county commission was poised to rehire George Touart as…
Sheriff warned county not to rebuild CBD basement in 2012
Sheriff David Morgan warned Interim County Administrator Larry Newsom in November 2012 not to restore the basement of the Central Booking Detention building to ‘pre-flood conditions, without any safeguards against flooding” or…
Most bizarre statement on jail explosion
Jon Stewart would have fun with this statement from Escambia County Public Information Bill Pearson that he told the media at the county’s first and only press conference on the April 29…
County issues Statement on Inmate Communications
The County Attorney’s Office is working directly with Corrections officials and attorneys who believe they may have encountered unreasonable obstacles trying to visit or communicate with an inmate. Any attorney who has…
Road Prison Commander issued ‘secret’ memo on legal visitations
County Attorney Alison Rogers emailed me the memo from Commander C.S. Snow of the Escambia Road Prison which orders all shift supervisors to only allow those attorneys listed on the Clerk of…
County continues to deny prisoners legal counsel
Last week, we reported that county jail personnel were denying inmates access to their attorneys. Only those lawyers who were representing them on criminal matters could meet with them. Both the U.S….
Medical help coming for inmates hurt by jail blast
At yesterday’s County Commission meeting, Director of Corrections Gordon Pike told the board that the county has hired six additional mental health counselors and one addition medical doctor to see to the…
State Fire Marshal says jail explosion due to gas leak
The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have completed the ‘on-scene’ phase of their joint investigation into an explosion…
PNJ has audio of interviews with inmates caught in the blast
PNJ reporter Kevin Robinson interviewed female inmates that were in Escambia County’s Central Booking and Detention Center. The recordings of those interviews are posted on pnj.com. Their stories match many of the…