The former Nowata County Sheriff who resigned over a court order to put inmates back in the ramshackle jail says a "good ol’ boys club" of officials is trying to rush reopening it.
"There was some thought in that county that if they lost their jail, they would be absorbed by another county, but you cannot house prisoners in that kind of facility because it’s a health risk," Terry Barnett told WBUR's Here & Now on Thursday.
Barnett said she’s heard the new sheriff and some other officials’ goal is to get the jail to pass inspection.
"Through the Department of Health, we have a jail inspection division with one and one-half people to cover the entire state, and these jail inspections, quote unquote, have been called a joke," Barnett said.
Barnett said contrary to some claims, a few coats of paint won’t be enough make the jail safe to occupy again.
"There’s numerous plumbing problems, sewer gas problems, they’ve never, ever stated or found out what exactly caused the carbon monoxide," Barnett said.
The jail was evacuated last month because of a carbon monoxide leak, and an audit identified myriad other health and safety issues.
Barnett and her undersheriff, deputies and head dispatcher resigned Monday.
