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MECKLENBURG COUNTY
Inmates on hunger strike to protest crowding
They say wait is too long for court dates
FRANCO ORDOŅEZ
fordonez@charlotteobserver.com

At least nine Latino inmates started a hunger strike Thursday to protest crowded conditions at the Mecklenburg County jail and extended waits for court dates.

"People have been here for two years and haven't been taken to court," said Walter Perez, a federal prisoner who is leading the hunger strike. "Take us to trial. Deport us. Don't just keep us here."

Perez, 37, said dozens of inmates are participating in the protest, which began when they turned away breakfast trays of scrambled eggs and toasted oats. They are prepared, he said, to go "as long as it takes" until public officials address their concerns.

Julia Rush, a spokeswoman for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office, disputed Perez's estimates on how many inmates had joined the protest.

Only nine inmates refused food out of protest, she said. Another six declined their morning meal in observance of Ramadan, an Islamic holiday involving a dawn-to-sunset fast.

"This happens all the time," she said. "People refuse to eat. This is not a big deal to us unless it becomes a medical situation."

But Rush said the inmates' complaints are accurate.

The jail has grown more crowded since Sheriff Jim Pendergraph started a federal program in April that allows his deputies to start removal proceedings on illegal immigrants.

Today, the jail holds approximately 2,730 inmates. Housing pods built for 56 inmates must accommodate up to 80. As many as 500 inmates sleep on the floor.

On Tuesday, county officials proposed building a temporary $7.8 million, 680-bed modular jail to relieve overcrowding.

State and federal inmates can wait years to have their cases resolved.

"If it were up to the sheriff, he would go through all the housing units and ask who wants to plead guilty," Rush said.

The sheriff tried that once about five years ago, she said, but the practice was stopped after complaints from the public defender's office.

Mecklenburg County District Attorney Peter Gilchrist said the long waits are the result of several factors, including a backlog in the courts and the complexity of cases.

"If someone were charged with murder and they were pleading not guilty, it could be 18 months to two years," he said. "If they were charged with a misdemeanor and pleading guilty we could have them out in a matter of days."

Miguel Manna, an immigration lawyer who works on criminal cases, said immigrants wait up to a year just to plead guilty so they can be deported.

"It doesn't surprise me that they are doing a hunger strike," he said. "The indefinites of their stay must be very frustrating and hard on their psyche."

Since the sheriff began the federal program, said Angeles Ortega-Moore, executive director of the Latin American Coalition, she's received an increasing number of calls from wives and other concerned family members who worry about the safety of loved ones.

"They say, `If he's going to be in jail, you might as well deport (him),' " she said. "At least if they go home, she can meet them there."

Perez said he is a U.S. citizen born in New Jersey. He was admitted to Mecklenburg County jail in July.

He is charged with credit card fraud, federal records show. He said he's innocent and is waiting for his next court date.

He worries about his wife and three daughters, who are struggling because he is no longer providing for them.

"If we just sit here and don't talk about it, they are not going to do anything," he said. "I'll go as long as I can. This is not just about Walter Perez. This is about everyone. Someone has got to stand up." -- Staff writer Melissa Manware contributed

-- Franco Ordoņez: 704-358-6180.