New jail won’t fix broken system To the Editor:

Posted

Cortland County is spending $20,000 on a consultant to study whether we need a new jail. But where’s the funding for a justice system that actually works?

Defendants here struggle to access discovery, navigate a court-appointed counsel system that’s paid out of the court’s budgets, and face pressure to take plea deals rather than risk trials. Justice isn’t about truth—it’s about efficiency, even if that means pushing innocent people into convictions.

I know this firsthand. My partner was arrested for harassment over notes written on my property without any threats — despite an officer on camera admitting they didn’t know who wrote them. Yet that uncertainty was still used as evidence to justify an arrest. This isn’t about law and order—it’s about a system that moves people through like paperwork, with little regard for fairness.

Meanwhile, jail populations have dropped 44% in the last decade, yet jail spending has jumped 58%.

Legislators haven’t even identified how many inmates a new jail should hold—because they don’t know. If we truly fixed the front end of the system — by ensuring fair trials and stopping unnecessary prosecutions — fewer people would be jailed in the first place.

Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on another jail, let’s invest in a system that ensures people don’t end up there unjustly. Otherwise, we’re just putting a fresh coat of paint on a broken machine.

Danielle Wimbish

Cortland