The Price of Injustice: Seattle’s Jailhouse Debt
A messy legal arbitration reveals how King County’s jail construction spiraled into a financial debacle—and why the city's approach to housing prisoners remained a 'miserable farce.'
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.
On Saturday afternoon, Messrs. Hurry, Coppic and Bagley, the arbitrators appointed to settle the matter of dispute between the County Commissioners and the jail contractors, made their award. They found that there was due the contractors for work done and materials furnished in the construction of the county jail building $4,597.62 in United States currency, which, according to their estimate, is equal to $6,567.02 in King County scrip. They also awarded interest of $191.10 and damages of $1,526.00 due to the Commissioners' failure to pay on time. The arbitrators noted that had they set aside the contract and made a new estimate, the county would have been the loser by more than $1,000.
This was rather a sweeping decision, but not altogether unexpected. It is said by a large number of masons who have examined the building that it could not have been constructed cheaper than the contract price. However, a bill may be filed to restrain payment, as taxpayers argue the Commissioners have no right to draw on the general fund for such construction. Meanwhile, the county has ordered that all persons convicted of crime be worked upon the county roads. This is an excellent idea in theory, but in practice, prisoners in the city jail are only taken out to sun themselves when conditions are favorable and frequently run away. The whole system is a miserable farce, and it is about time some reform was inaugurated.
“The whole thing is a miserable farce, and it is about time some reform was inaugurated.”
In 1877, Seattle was already wrestling with the intersection of public infrastructure costs, contractor disputes, and the failed promise of 'reform' through forced labor. Over 140 years later, Seattle remains locked in debates over the true cost of public facilities, the efficiency of municipal contracting, and the efficacy of our carceral systems.
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