The nonprofit advocacy group CALEB slammed the Hamilton County Jail on Tuesday, repeatedly citing incorrect jail death data during a press conference that the sheriff later referred to as a “stunt” and a “comedy show” of misinformation.
CALEB hosted several events and conferences over the past year to call for the adoption of systemic changes in Hamilton County’s pretrial detention policies.
The group requested an automatic jail release order for those charged with low-level, nonviolent offenses awaiting trial and greater data transparency to help the county understand how current policies affect the community.
About a dozen advocates met Tuesday by a monument to remember fallen officers steps away from the Hamilton County Courthouse and the Sheriff’s Office, and much of their attention was placed on the allegedly poor, unjustifiable failures of the local jail.
CALEB Hamilton County Community Bail Fund Manager Kate Coffelt referenced “the 22 jail deaths in the previous two years.” There was another advocate, who volunteered to monitor the court system, who said there were at least 22 confirmed jail deaths since the beginning of 2023.