Dozens of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have begun their work patrolling Shelby County as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, which was mandated by President Donald Trump with Gov. Bill Lee’s support.
Since the task force began on Sept. 29, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Republican Party of Shelby County have regularly posted on social media, touting the number of arrests made in Memphis. They say 500 to 800 people have been detained in two weeks. Some local officials, like Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, worry this will put even more strain on the county’s criminal justice system.
“(This) flood could overwhelm our already overcrowded jails and backlogged courts, delaying justice for victims and defendants alike,” Mulroy wrote in his Oct. 3 newsletter.
Before the task force began, the Shelby County jail at 201 Poplar Ave. was detaining more people than it was built to hold, and at least seven people have died this year while in custody. Decaying infrastructure, staffing shortages and overcrowding have created a deadly combination of conditions. Officials blame siloed leadership — while contesting whether or not the county needs a new facility to replace the 44-year-old jail.
Overlooked by some state and local leaders is the issue of bail. Legal studies show that an over-reliance on cash bail has driven up jail populations nationwide. In Memphis, the number of people held in pre-trial detention in July was 17% higher than the same time last year and 11% higher in August.
Understanding what’s happening inside the jail, the function of bail in Shelby County’s criminal justice system, and how recently passed laws may be contributing to jail overcrowding reveals how bail reform can be one solution to the jail crisis.
What are the current conditions of the Shelby County jail?
The jail was originally built to hold about 2,400 men. According to the most recent jail report cards, the daily population in July and August was 2,822 and 2,789. Data show the jail has been overcapacity since July 2024.
After a string of deaths inside the jail, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office began calling for a new facility to be built. But, opponents of this idea, like the Memphis-based criminal justice reform firm Just City, say the issue is with the lack of personnel and processes — problems that a new jail wouldn’t necessarily solve.
“I know enough about the sheriff’s office and government to know that there is a bureaucracy,” said Josh Spickler, Just City’s executive director. “There’s accountability in those systems, and I would guess that it’s just not being done. This is a leadership problem.”
Spickler said extended booking times and long jail stays are part of the problem. Recent jail report cards show the wait time to be booked is 53 to 83 hours. The average length of stay ranged from 55 days in July to 62 days in August. Half of the people were held longer than 72 hours, meaning many detainees are spending three or more days in jail before seeing a judge or judicial commissioner to set bail.
“There are people whose jobs it is to get (people) to court, to see an attorney, to see a judge. And if that’s not working, it’s the sheriff’s responsibility to train those people or commit more resources to that,” Spickler said. “These are generally constitutional standards. We’re not asking for the moon here.”
In August, the jail booked 1,804 men and released 1,850. Data show most people in jail have been there before — lending to the years-long, local debates about whether there’s an overpolicing or a revolving door problem in Memphis. The state passed a law in 2024 that makes it a crime – not a technical violation – when a person fails to meet a condition of release, like missing curfew or failing to check in. This can lead to higher recidivism rates and more people locked up.
Dangerous conditions persist at 201 Poplar; there were a reported 382 incidents in July, including 133 alleged assaults with three alleged rapes and one death: Rockez McDaniel, 33. In August, there were 308 reported incidents and no deaths.
“(People in jail) deserve better. 201 and the justice system should do better. They should be reformed and not treated like animals,” said Rashad McDaniel, Rockez McDaniel’s brother
The crisis reached a tipping point in January and February, when Justin Segerson, 41, Sherman Weakley, 22, Darian Nolen, 33, and Darin Crawford, 57, all died within days of each other. Courtney Berry, 36, died in March, and Daniel Neal, 41, in May. There have been reports that an eighth person died in jail, but it has not been confirmed by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation – after several requests for more information.
In the local criminal-legal system, what purpose does bail and bond serve?
In the Constitution, the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments protect people’s rights to due process. This means that when a person is arrested and jailed, they are innocent until proven guilty. In other words, jails exist as a form of pre-trial detention, unlike prisons, which are for post-conviction incarceration.
Bail is a mechanism to ensure a person returns to court for trial. Typically, a judge considers whether someone is a flight risk or a danger to the community. Then, the judge sets an amount that must be paid by the defendant or through a bondsman to be released from custody. In Shelby County, judges and judicial commissioners are responsible for setting bail.
How do state laws impact bail and bond in Shelby County?
In recent years, the Tennessee General Assembly has passed laws that expand what judges and judicial commissioners can consider when setting bail – like a person’s juvenile record and hearsay evidence.
In 2024, lawmakers passed House Bill 1719/Senate Bill 2565, which removed a person’s financial condition as consideration for setting a bail amount. In other words, judges and judicial commissioners don’t have to weigh whether or not a person can afford bail. In Memphis, where nearly one in four people live in poverty, bail often sets the cost between incarceration and freedom.
For people who can’t afford to pay bail out of pocket, they must rely on bail bondsmen, a for-profit system.
The matter of bail will continue to be a central issue in the coming months. In the 2026 election, while voting for Shelby County’s mayor, commissioners, sheriff and more, residents will also decide whether or not to amend the state constitution to restrict bail for people accused of certain crimes.
What evidence is there to support the idea that higher bail amounts increase public safety?
Although many tough-on-crime bail laws have been proposed and championed by lawmakers, there is not much proof that they make the public safer. In fact, higher bail amounts run the risk of decreasing public safety, according to research by the Prison Policy Initiative.
A 2016 report shows that many people remain detained in local jails because of an inability to pay bail, not due to being a flight or public safety risk. When people are jailed for extended periods of time, they often lose jobs, housing and stability – which could increase the likelihood of recidivism. A 2025 report makes the connection between how costly bail drives up local jail populations and contributes to mass incarceration, without any clearly defined benefits to public safety.
How could bail reform be a solution to Shelby County’s jail crisis?
In 2022, Shelby County government officials passed the Standing Bail Order. The order helped establish a bail hearing room and put in place a bail calculator to ensure the courts provide defendants with the fairest possible amount. The ACLU of Tennessee praised the move, stating it would make “(Shelby) County’s system one of the fairest in the nation.”
However, the order wasn’t in full effect until 2023. That year, conservative state legislators began passing laws to claw back bail reform. The most consequential was passed in 2024; HB 1719/SB 2565 no longer requires the court to consider a person’s ability to pay when setting bail.
Shelby County courts still operate a bail hearing room, but those hearings often don’t happen within three days of arrest, as expected.
Researchers and advocates for bail reform say it helps reduce the jail population by ensuring people don’t sit in jail because they can’t afford to pay or post collateral to be released. Several legal and research firms – including Just City, the Brennan Center for Justice and the Center for American Progress – have data that show bail reform does not make the public less safe.
Brittany Brown is the public safety reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Email her at brittany.brown@mlk50.com
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