America’s Jails Are Slaughterhouses

Photo by Natalie Ng on Unsplash

The last time I sued the Louisville Metro Jail, I got to question the former director extensively. He was a real character, sort of like if Jerry Bruckheimer and Vince McMahon co-conceived a tough-but-fair police chief for a movie about a heist at the Kentucky Derby or something. I asked him if he thought there was an overcrowding problem at the jail. “Yes, absolutely.” But did that mean the staff, afflicted with a chronic…