The jail, built for 96 inmates, averages about 250 prisoners, most of them waiting to be transferred to the state prison system. Because Alabama’s prison system is so overcrowded, people sentenced to prison are often left in county jails for a long time before they are transferred to prisons.

After touring the jail and hearing testimony from inmates, Judge U.W. Clemon found on April 21, 2001, ''The sardine-can appearance of its cells more nearly resemble the holding units of slave ships during the Middle Passage of the 18th century than anything in the 21st century.'' He declared conditions in the jail “uncivilized, medieval, and barbaric.” The Judge found:

• Inmates were crowded into filthy, fetid cells and required to sleep on the concrete floor space under and between bunks, next to toilets and urinals, and on tables used for meals.

• ''Sometimes, inmates are not provided with sleeping mats, blankets or sheets.''

• Cells are dirty and unkempt and inmates aren't provided adequate cleaning supplies and equipment to clean the jail themselves. Soiled clothes, papers and other debris litter the floors. Cells are poorly ventilated and vents need cleaning.

• Inmates unable to purchase towels, soap and other items for personal hygiene are often denied such items. ''The food is inadequate in amount and unsanitary in presentation.''

• There is a dangerous delay in providing care for inmates' medical needs and jailers are indifferent to the needs of mentally ill inmates.

The judge first heard about the conditions and toured the jail on March 14, but concluded that he was required to dismiss the suit because of a barrier erected by Congress in the Prison Litigation Reform Act, adopted in 1996. The Act requires inmates to present grievances to prison or jail authorities before filing a lawsuit. The judge ruled that the Act required the inmates to file grievances even though the grievance procedure was confusing and the jail officials were powerless to get the Alabama Department of Corrections to remove the inmates who were awaiting transfer to the state prisons.

Southern Center staff spent several days in Decatur assisting the inmates complete grievance forms and ensure their compliance with each step of the grievance process, before refiling the case on April 5. At a hearing on April 12, several inmates testified about conditions at the jail. One woman who was bipolar had been denied medication by the jail on the theory that her mental illness was a “preexisting condition” for which the jail was not responsible. The woman had been assaulted in the jail, maced at least three times, and thrown into a cold, dark, bare observation room stripped of her clothing.

The judge ordered the Alabama Department of Corrections to remove inmates from the jail and required the sheriff and county officials to develop plans to deal with other problems at the jail.