Indianapolis Jail Released From Federal Monitoring

August 13, 2007December 16, 2009 1551 Views Interior Surfaces

INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge here lifted a consent decree that had barred local control of the Marion County Jail for the last 35 years.

The decision of U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker clears the way for local officials to operate the jail for the first time since federal courts imposed oversight in 1972 because of chronic overcrowding and substandard conditions at the facility.

The consent decree was no longer needed because conditions at the jail have improved to meet constitutional requirements for treatment of inmates, officials say.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which filed the original lawsuit on constitutional grounds, did not oppose the county’s request for removal of the oversight decree.

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