Liberty County Jail appeals state order to close, remains open despite 'dangerous conditions'

LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A state entity overseeing Texas jails ordered the Liberty County Jail to shut down, citing long-standing dangerous conditions that reportedly contributed to a fire in April.

A spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards told ABC13 that Liberty County appealed the state's order on April 25, the day before it was set to take effect.

The order called on the jail to voluntarily cease receiving new inmates and to evacuate all current inmates on April 11. It imposed a mandatory deadline of April 26 for the county to do so.

However, the TCJS spokesperson told ABC13 that because the county appealed the order, the jail is free to continue operations unhindered for the time being. As of Thursday, the spokesperson said no date had been set for a hearing.

State non-compliance reports show the jail has a number of outstanding safety violations, some of which, records state, have gone unaddressed for years.

A Liberty County Fire Marshal's investigation determined that a fire at the jail in April, which sent five correctional officers to the jail, was sparked by a lighting issue that caused clutter to ignite. Records state the jail had open violations for issues with lighting and clutter at the time of the blaze and had recently failed its fire inspection.

RELATED: Records show Liberty County Jail failed fire inspection before blaze sent 5 officers to the hospital

ABC13 spoke with a man who was booked into and bonded out of jail in May. He asked to remain anonymous out of concern for his ongoing case. County records confirm the young man was arrested earlier this month for theft.

"My hope is maybe that this will get all resolved and the jail will get shut down," he said of his decision to speak with ABC13. He added, "I'm worried something worse could happen to these inmates."

The man said he felt conditions inside the jail were "unsafe."

He described extensive electrical issues. He said there were "Wires hanging from the ceiling, side walls. The plugs and outlets were completely gone; there were no lights in the cell whatsoever, no lights in the dorm."

He said some inmates stripped exposed wires and created lights of their own. He said he was particularly worried about the exposed wiring and self-made lighting because much of the unit was flooded with sewage.

He said each time an inmate flushed urine and feces, waste would flush into neighboring cells, often his own.

"Just horrible conditions," he added.

Despite being accused of stealing approximately $250 worth of goods from a store, the man told ABC13 he was housed alongside violent offenders.

"You're actually in there with murderers and child sex offenders," he explained.

Records show the facility is in violation of the state for reportedly housing minimum custody inmates with maximum custody inmates. The man told ABC13 he felt the housing assignments encouraged a culture of "fighting" and were designed to "punish" inmates.

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