Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Washington

Re: Inmates/contracted Institutions

Several western Washington municipalities and counties have really taken a shine to sending their inmates to the jails in central and eastern Washington, which have begun contracting out their open jail space. The citizens of Yakima and Benton Counties are reaping huge benefits from all the west-side court systems that as a result can now pay less to send their convicts away than they can to build new jails.

Any way, to answer your question, there is no Constitutional right of a convicted person to be housed in one jail or another. In fact, it�s common place for inmates in the federal system to be shipped all around the country from jail to jail, wherever they is any open space for them to occupy. Felony inmates in our state-level prison system are sometimes shipped off to other states for the same reasons.

The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment. The fact that the inmate feels unsafe or threatened does not violate this prohibition. Jail is supposed to be an unpleasant experience. The inmate could perhaps send a letter to the judge who sentenced him/her, but I would expect that the court will care very little and do even less.