The plight of inmates in Hays County Jail during the pandemic, most of whom have not been convicted of any crime, was on the minds of several people who spoke up at Commissioners Court’s recently.
The remarks came after jail officials acknowledged an outbreak of COVID-19 at the facility. Capt. Julie Villalpando said on June 23 that 36 inmates and nine correctional officers had tested positive for the highly contagious airborne virus that has sickened more than two and a half million Americans and more than 2,000 in Hays County. Two weeks later, the jail had 60 positive cases and the county had 10 fatalities.
The pandemic threatens the future of the county’s long-standing practice of outsourcing inmates to other facilities in order to stay within the population mandated by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). In April, Travis County canceled its contract to accept Hays County inmates.
