Louisville councilman wants to use tax dollars to pay bonds for low-level offenders at jail

By Shaquille Lord

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — A Metro Council member is taking action after another inmate died behind bars at Metro Corrections, the latest death as issues continue at the troubled jail.

On Sunday, jail officials confirmed Leslie Starnes took his own life. His death at Louisville Metro Corrections brings the total number to six deaths in the last 90 days, three so far this year.

“On average, we have three deaths annually and here we are, barely a month into 2022 and we’ve already had three deaths,” said District 4 Councilman Jecorey Arthur.

Starnes was being held on a warrant out of Bullitt County for not paying child support. Arthur says around 18 inmates in Metro Corrections have bonds for $500 or less for low-level offenses, for example like a missed court date for a traffic ticket.

He says he plans on using tax dollars to help this small group of the more than 1,400 current inmates.

“It actually saves you tax dollars if we go ahead and bail them out with our neighborhood development fund vs. keeping them in there and spending those tax dollars to take care of them while they are incarcerated,” Arthur told WLKY.

Arthur plans on filing an ordinance to approve using his district’s neighborhood development funds for this effort. If approved by the council, the money will be distributed to a local bail organization.

“We have the power to make some changes in corrections, I just hope my colleagues have the will to make those changes,” he said.

With the six recent deaths inside the jail, on social media Monday, Arthur called for a third-party investigation, to go along with the current LMPD and FBI’s investigation.

“All I keep coming back to is that this jail, this hellhole, needs to be thoroughly investigated by an outside party,” Arthur said.

A bill, introduced in Frankfort, could make it illegal for charitable groups to post bonds for inmates. Arthur hopes his ordinance gets passed before that happens.

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