Floating Jails
Local political leaders tell us they have no money for additional jails. Citizens complain about locating criminal detention facilities in their back yards, and the justice system grinds slowly to a halt because we have no courtrooms. And all the while, former warships sit in mothballs in local harbors. How does that figure?
As a former Marine Corps judge advocate, I know prisoners have been held in ship brigs for the last several years. The repair ship Jason, and the destroyer tenders Cape Code and Acadia have all housed prisoners waiting for court-martial. If it works for the military, why not the county?
Why not rejuvenate these decaying vessels into beautiful memorials of San Diego naval history and use them as county jails? We can then take the space adjacent to the downtown courthouse that presently serves as the County Jail and build the courtrooms our judges need to ease the crunch on our justice system.
THOMAS M. CONNALLY
El Cajon
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