Walla Walla's Grand Jury Slams Local Jail Conditions
1864 grand jurors call the county jail 'bad' and 'insecure,' demanding iron cells and high walls to keep prisoners from escaping.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
We, the Grand Jury in and for said District, having concluded our labors, beg leave to submit the following report: We have examined the County Jail and find it in bad condition for the safe keeping of prisoners. We find that the County Commissioners have not complied with the report of the former grand jury. We also find that the jail can be made amply sufficient and secure if the County Commissioners will use diligence and energy. We have found by careful calculations that one or two iron cells, made of good boiler iron, can be built at a cost of six or seven hundred dollars each. We would also recommend that the jail yard be fenced in with a good, substantial, twelve-foot high tight fence, topped with sharp spikes set one inch apart. We also find the room where the court is now being held is not such a room as should be provided; the room is too small, too noisy, and not a fit place for a court to convene in.
“We find the room where the court is now being held is not such a room as should be provided; the room is too small, too noisy, and not a fit place for a court to convene in.”
The perennial tension between public safety, fiscal responsibility, and the basic condition of correctional facilities remains a central debate in Walla Walla, just as it was in 1864. While the technology of jail design has changed, the frustration expressed by jurors toward county leadership regarding the 'integrity' of civic infrastructure echoes contemporary budget meetings.
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