‘We know we need a new jail': Commission reacts to ambitious Firestone jail plan
A plan to build a new jail and relocate every criminal and civil justice institution in Shelby County to the former Firestone plant site in North Memphis was presented to the Shelby County Commission on Wednesday, Aug. 6. The first phase of the plan would cost an estimated $1.3 billion. (Submitted)
The concept of building a new Shelby County jail has broad support from the Shelby County Board of Commissioners.
It’s when the discussion gets more specific — about where to build it, who pays for it and whether the rest of the local civil and criminal justice system comes with it — that differences among the commissioners emerge.
The Shelby County Commission will decide whether — and where — a new jail is built.
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new jail Shelby County Commission SMPO new jail plan Josh Spickler Tami Sawyer Floyd Bonner Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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