Ward County Jail continues to improve

MINOT, N.D. (AP) - A North Dakota jail is continuing to improve since being assigned a jail monitor by the state.

Ward County Jail was assigned a jail monitor by the North Dakota State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation after the death of inmate Dustin Irwin in October 2014, the Minot Daily News (https://bit.ly/2sFNkRi) reported.

The jail came close to passing its most recent audit, but the NDDOC said that while the Ward County Jail is doing well, it will have a monitor in place as long as deemed necessary.

In 2014, NDDOC Director Leann Bertsch determined that the inmates and staff weren’t “safe as a result of the inaction of the Sheriff.”

The NDDOC said during its investigation Capt. Mike Nason, who was in charge of training and civil process, which included transport of prisoners, said he told the sheriff “two years ago that the Ward County Jail was overpopulated with inmates.”

Sheriff Steve Kukowski was suspended and resigned this year in exchange for three misdemeanor charges against him being dropped. Prosecutors alleged Kukowski, who was suspended in 2016, didn’t attempt to get medical care for Irwin despite being aware of a medical condition. Kukowski maintained his innocence.

Kukowski also argued that overcrowding at the jail was due to mandatory sentences handed down by district judges and the “oil boom,” which he argued brought additional people and additional crime to Ward County.

The Ward County Jail is currently operating within the NDDOC’s prisoner limitation guidelines.

A new county jail is being constructed and is expected to be completed by 2018. The new jail will increase inmate capacity.

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Information from: Minot Daily News, https://www.minotdailynews.com