County still waiting on state to transfer inmates to state custody, unsure how Bullock directive will impact transfer
Cascade County officials are still waiting for the state to transport inmates from the county jail who have been convicted and sentenced to state prison.
On April 1, Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki filed motions asking for 24 inmates to be transferred to state prison to begin serving their sentences.
That same day, Gov. Steve Bullock issued a directive suspending new transfers into Department of Corrections custody, except where authorized by the director due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Any new transfers will need to be quarantined for 14 days. The directive applies to all DOC facilities and contract facilities in Montana.
As of April 8, District Court Judge Elizabeth Beth had signed 11 of those motions, ordering that those 11 inmates be transferred to the DOC, according to Racki.
Best’s orders require that the state pick up those 11 inmates by April 10 or the county will transport them to the state prison, Racki said.
Racki told The Electric that the county hasn’t heard from the state whether it will accept those inmates.
The Electric has contacted the DOC for comment, but not yet heard back.
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Racki’s motions, filed April 1, state that the defendants are unable to start any DOC programs “or otherwise receive rehabilitative services,’ while in the county facility, where the state is also not covering the cost of housing those inmates, according to Sheriff Jesse Slaughter.
“This is especially disconcerting given that there is a public health crisis at the moment. There is currently no health issues at the CCDC. Should a health issue arise, the CCDC administration will need as much room as possible to conduct separation and quarantine operations. Removing State Department of Corrections inmates will assist in preparing for that possibly,” according to Racki’s motion.
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Should district court judges issue orders to transfer the inmates to DOC custody, the order requires DOC to pick up the inmates within seven days or on the eighth day, the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office will transport the inmates to DOC facilities and DOC will take custody at that time.
Racki said the county has taken similar action to move other inmates that have been sentenced to state prisons but were waiting on DOC transport.
Cascade County is currently in a legal dispute with DOC over costs associated with housing state prisoners.
