Tampabay: We invite your feedback

We invite your feedback on our special report on jail overcrowding. How important do you think it is to fix the crowding problem at the Pinellas County Jail?

If you had to spend 48 hours in the jail – on the floor, feet from a toilet – how well would you do?

We ask that your comments relate to today's report and adhere to our guidelines. Story comments are reviewed by an editor before publication. We don't edit posts, but we do reserve the right to delete comments that violate our guidelines.

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Comments on this article

by concerned mom	03/07/08 11:36 PM
My 6 year old son got MRSA from the back of a PC Sherrif's police car. He had four areas that looked like bug bites turn out to be MRSA. They were full of puss, red and very painful for him. Those cars are filthy and the county never cleans them.

by Candi	02/27/08 11:53 PM
Well if the Jial's are so crowded build more. Or don't put someone in jail over a $9.00 sandwich. How stupid is that? Could have given her a tickett to appear in court. It's the taxpayer paying the bill . How many sandwiches could you have bought ?

by Joy	02/27/08 04:29 AM
As a former Jail Nurse, I've seen so much MRSA, usually in the form of boils on the body.They clean and lance it and next week there's another somewhere else. Its never cured.It very contagious

by Karen	02/02/08 08:36 AM
This story is so sad. As of this very moment I have a 31 yr old daughter in this very jail for VOP & petty theft (due to drugs). It is killing us as parents to know she is in there, and we hope this cures her. Thank you for reporting on this.

by Carmen	09/19/07 08:26 PM
Send them all to Iraq, I'm sure they'll find a way to win this war and perhaps even find Osama BinLaden

by by parent	09/19/07 08:56 AM
Jail is deplorable. These people need to find a job or career they like or go to vocational school, after they receive a GED.Its no kind of life for them. Separate jails for mentally is good idea. Help the younger ones not to go back to jail.

by Linda	09/16/07 09:08 PM
This being accepted by me as the truth, leads to many questions. If a restaurant had an infestation of roaches(for example)and a government agency investigated, there would be warnings,followed by fines and finally closure of facility

by Tina	09/16/07 08:11 AM
I sad to say my child slipped threw the cracks she was sentanced to 11 yrs at 19 ,on herfirst offense, no downward departure, no she could get all the mental health help she needed in prison,sosaid her judge!And she has she has only 4 yrs left!

by Patrick	09/06/07 01:54 AM
My wife was brutally beaten & required surgery for her injuries. The man was charged with aggravated battery & 6 felony VOP's. P.C.J. gave him a bond, then drastically reduced it to ease the overcrowding. He got out, and did the same crime again.

by parent	09/04/07 01:26 PM
no facility for mentally ill- inmates let out w/no treatment,no med.,no plan.All will return w/ new charges for longer stays with the same outcome- state needs to wake up and help those who can't help themselves not keep them in overcrowded jails

by Paul	06/12/07 04:18 PM
I work in the Pasco County Jail.We are overcrowded as well.Where's our news coverage?And to those ppl crying...if youu can't do the time, DON'T DO THE CRIME.What about all the victim's out there.And there ARE victims for EVERY crime

by SHERR Y	04/23/07 04:24 PM
I think that a 5 yr DL suspension not to mention THOUSANDS of dollars in fines is enough of a punshiment. Why report back to jail 5 mos later to do a 48 hr sentence for a DUI. Put people in there that need to be!!!

by Carol	04/20/07 11:17 PM
What a great article! I have a family member in Pasco County jail.He had a warrant from 1995. He has no new charges but had no bond.This state has no forgivig or sttue of limitation on anything.Give these people a bond.

by Geri	04/20/07 06:36 PM
The jail manages to assess fees for many of its services. Inmates pay for their own deodorant at 3x the rate they could buy it at many stores. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, pen & paper. Food is minimal servings. Buildings are chilly and clothing minimal.

by Geri	04/20/07 06:35 PM
Typically the clothing an inmate comes in with is never returned to them. My friend is having to try to buy a pair from an inmate who is losing his as he moves on to prison. His own clothing & shoes were "lost" & besides not having a bed,he'sbarefoot

by Geri	04/20/07 06:28 PM
A friend has been in 9 days now and JUST LAST NIGHT got a bed. He has been sleeping on the floor while a judge plays games with his bail. Not every crime deserves jail and yes, the courts are quite backed up.

by Geri	04/20/07 06:25 PM
A friend of mine recently worked in the kitchen while it was undergoing remodeling. Conditions that would shut down any restaurant - open ceiling tiles, exposed insulation, were present, no hot water - but there is no place to complain about this.

by Geri	04/20/07 06:23 PM
One problem contributing to the overcrowding is a Judge who is considered "no nonsense." However, he is keeping people longer and denying bail to many who are not a threat to society in general. Attitudes like his contribute to the over population.

by Steven	04/20/07 01:28 PM
You know, what we need is the ability to sort who goes to jail - mentally disabled to one type of facility, drug dependent to another, etc. - this way, we get these people the help they need instead of warehousing them...

by jenni k	04/19/07 07:36 PM
i know that my boyfriend has been in there 20 days without being charged with anything... i hope he will be home soon

by Drew Finn	03/15/07 10:40 PM
Well, if you think the conditions at the jail are terrible, then you better make sure you don't go there !! As for the ones who are already there - newsflash - it's a jail - not a Holiday Inn.

by Judy	02/01/07 04:05 PM
I work in jails every day. The overcrowding causes prisoners and jailers to be so stressed that society pays more for increased crimes, medical bills and lawsuits. I would like to see more substance abuse treatment and work programs.

by I WONDER	01/28/07 09:47 AM
I wonder why every deputy that replied about the male facilities are female!Why are they even there? Not enough males! Other than that,a well writen artical that the public needs to know about! Thanks!!

by irene	01/26/07 09:47 PM
I don't do anything to land myself in jail and I realise some people are mentally ill but for the others who aren't I don't feel sorry for them, they should ask themselves what did I do to get myself in this position

by paul	01/26/07 03:08 PM
i have an idea for a story. why doesn't your jail reporter(s) play homeless for 48 hours. i'd like to see their prospective on the homeless life.

by Derek	01/26/07 01:31 PM
Commit a crime, pay the price. Overcrowding not your problem. Let the prisoners construct larger facilities. Don't commit the crime and you wont have to serve the time. Bleeding hearts are causing the problem.

by Russell	01/26/07 01:30 PM
Well it doesn't surprise me.Florida is run by a Bush. Corruption in the criminal justice system, racial injustice ect... are overcrouded conditions running the system in Fla.

by bill	01/24/07 02:29 AM
jail is a place to live and insurance of last resort. the taxpayers pay for expensive medicine, kidney dialysis, radiation, chemotherapy, insulin. transportation by guards is provided to treatment facilities that would otherwise throw the inmate out.

by bill	01/24/07 02:21 AM
yes, there is 'staph' in jail. it's really called marsa; Multiple Antibiodic Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. it's where ever people are in crowded conditions;military barracks,cruise ships,hotels,hospitals,etc. was the floor in g5 mopped with clorox

by bill	01/24/07 01:58 AM
some of the mentally ill could be housed at pems, the baker act receiving facility. but pems 'cherry picks' their patients, and refuses anyone that has been criminalized with charges against them.

by bill	01/24/07 01:42 AM
many of the mentally ill could be at j p wood state mental hospital. but gov bush closed it to save money; put the patients on the street; they stopped taking medicine; got accused of a crime; labeled criminals; put in the revolving door jail.

by Mom	01/23/07 09:26 PM
If you really want to make a difference, start with your own family/children. Teach them to respect others and themselves. Dont teach them to hate or think they deserve whatever they can take. Give them a concience, then the problem would be less.

by Mom	01/23/07 09:24 PM
Suggesting that a reporter come into a jail undercover is asking for him/her to potentially get hurt or worse.Bottom line, we make the laws. If we dont want to lock people up, take away the laws. If you're the victim,you'ld change your opinion fast!

by Mom	01/23/07 09:20 PM
All of this from inmates waiting for trial. The person who alluded to us not wanting to change the way things are, is so off base that its not even humorous. Not every inmate is nasty. Just the ones who have no concience (60%?)

by Mom	01/23/07 09:17 PM
Continued: Many are repeat offenders. Some really don't belong there. I saw comments addressing the amount of pay deputies recieve. It's not enough. We are subjected to blood, spit, vomit, feces, urine, toilet water and anything else you can thing of