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Overcrowded Jails and Broken Systems | Asheville News
Buncombe County’s jail is dangerously overcrowded, housing over 500 inmates despite a safe limit of 470 — forcing cells to double as living quarters and stretching guards thin at a 1-to-64 ratio. This crisis mirrors statewide woes: nearly one-third of North Carolina’s jails are over capacity, fueled by prison backlogs, sluggish courts, and mental health staffing gaps. While past efforts like the Justice Resource Center cut pretrial detainees by 30% post-pandemic, numbers are rebounding and racial disparities remain. New legislation, Iryna’s Law, sparks debate — some blame it for increasing…
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