The backstory
According to county documents, the initial agreement with Management and Training Corporation approved the commissioners court included housing up to 432 inmates. On October 3, 2023, the commissioners court extended the contract from Sept. 30, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2024, and increased the number of inmates being housed to 500.
County documents state that on Feb. 6, the commissioners court ordered the county administrator to send a letter to Management and Training Corporation expressing their “severe displeasure regarding [Management and Training Corporation] failing Texas Commission on Jail Standards compliance and lack of the contractually required immediate notification.”
The contract with Management and Training Corporation requires a 60-day cancellation notice.
Zooming in
County Administrator Chandler Merritt said the Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspected and approved two housing towers at the Tarrant County jail in downtown Fort Worth that can now house the inmates returning from the Garza County prison.
“It’s been a long process in getting to this point, but we’ve gotten here,” Precinct 1 Commissioner Roy Brooks said. “And thank goodness that we have."
Precinct 4 Commissioner Manny Ramirez echoed Brooks, saying that the process of bringing home nearly 400 inmates has been “complicated and difficult,” and also said that county jails across Texas need help from the state in terms of resources.
“The majority of the folks that are at [Giles W. Dalby Correctional Center] right now are already sentenced and so therefore should already be in state custody, not Tarrant County custody,” Ramirez said. “I would encourage everyone to reach out to their state legislators and let them know that the counties need help.”
