 "Photo: Kalynn Baker for The Hilltop")
 "Photo: Joshua DeBerry for The Hilltop")
Madison County is building a new jail beside the Madison County Health Department because the old jail is out of date and overflowing.
The Hilltop staff visited the old white jail during an afternoon in March of 2010 and found that it was very busy for its size.
At least three people were sitting in the lobby with cuffs on their hands or feet.
Sgt. J. Buchanan gave the staff of The Hilltop a tour of the jail explaining each room.
The tour included the holding cell where prisoners are kept while officers process papers.
Buchanan also took the staff up to the cellblocks where the prisoners are kept.
When asked if the jail was overcrowded, Buchanan said that it was.
“We are presently right around 30. We have 24 beds,” he said.
Some of the prisoners have to sleep on the floor, which Buchanan said is as safe as the staff can make it.
The longest term some current inmates have been in the jail is for almost a year.
“We have…two been in here, almost a year,” said Buchanan.
Aside from the overflow, the jail is out of date.
Buchanan showed The Hilltop staff his keys that would fit into an old skeleton key collection.
The inmates are able to go out for most of the day.
“We make sure we can treat them humane,” Buchanan said.
The prisoners are able to watch TV, read and play card games and dominoes.
Later in the tour, Buchanan told the staff that a person can go to jail for a misdemeanor.
“There’s quite a few that’s been sent for misdemeanors. In fact, I’ve got three that I’ve got to get back down to right now,” he said.
A person can be sent to jail for misdemeanors such as a DUI or child abuse.
Currently, the Madison County jail does not hold females. Females are housed in the Haywood County jail.
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