By Taylor Six
Lexington Herald-Leader
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Mold, broken toilets and razor blades on cell floors inside the Madison County Detention Center are among some of the findings noted in the most recent annual inspection by the Kentucky Department of Corrections.
The findings are the latest in a string of persistent problems at the Central Kentucky jail, which since 2021 has been plagued with legal violations,deaths and escapes.
The latest violations were provided to the Herald-Leader through the Kentucky Open Records Act.
The jail, built in 1989 to hold 184 inmates, had its most recent inspection in March. The inspection involved state officials assessing the jail’s compliance with 215 categories. Of those, the jail was non-compliant on 21%.
Notes in the report and subsequent follow-up inspections found the jail has consistently remained overcrowded, and conditions inside are less than ideal: broken windows, exposed wires in cells, and few properly operating showers and toilets were all detailed in the reports.
A previous Herald-Leader investigation revealed the jail was the second worst in the state for inmate mortality, next only to the Louisville jail, which has a bed capacity more than 1,000.
Jails in bad shape can be shut down by the Department of Corrections, and both the state and Richmond jail staff have been aware of repeated failures. But the jail has been allowed to remain open because there have been “good faith attempts” to solve the problems, the report says.
What the reports found
Records obtained by the Herald-Leader showed inspection reports for the jail since 2021. Operated by an elected jailer, the Madison County Detention Center is overseen by the Department of Corrections.
The state is required by law to inspect the jail twice annually, and conduct follow-ups when necessary.
The most-repetitive compliance issue for the Richmond jail was its overcrowding and use of unauthorized spaces to confine inmates. The report said there were instances of the jail triple stacking bunks to house all its detainees.
However, with the jail’s population – sometimes double or triple its capacity – the jailers have reported the triple bunks have helped take inmates off the floor, and increased safety.
The jail has also failed to have deputies stay consistent with required one-hour inmate checks, as well as 20-minute inmate checks for those who are suicidal. Sometimes two to three hours would pass before a check was logged, the reports noted.
But the Madison County jail wasn’t the only one in Central Kentucky with these issues. The Fayette and Franklin County jails also were noted for overcrowding and failure to maintain their schedule of checks.
The 2021 report for the Madison County Detention Center noted other administrative snafus, like failure to maintain logs, and failure to post policies and procedures. But in the years since then, the jail’s condition has continued to deteriorate: More recent reports show issues such as mold and mildew, inoperable drinking fountains, and holes in cells that allow mice and other “pests” to get in.
The past two inspections said inmates could not shower daily and did not have enough clean jumpsuits or bedding.
“Multiple showers had mold/mildew,” the report reads. “Multiple inmates stated they did not have a towel or a change of uniform or undergarments and towels not laundered twice per week.”
In a 2025 initial inspection, the report states the showers were black, some didn’t have hot or cold water, and some did not work altogether.
In a follow-up walkthrough after the initial 2025 inspection, it was noted razor blades were found laying on cell floors.
“When conducting the walk-through inspection multiple areas had contraband in the cell,” the report states. “It did not appear that any security checks for contraband had been conducted in several days.”
Jailer: Some changes not practical for the jail’s reality
Jailers at all Kentucky jails have an opportunity to correct problems found in the reports. The corrections department can follow up to see if the corrective action plan was implemented.
If the jail fails to fix the violation, it may be cited as a violation on subsequent inspections until the issue is resolved. If the violation persists, the DOC can request standards be enforced by way of the Franklin County Circuit Clerk.
Any person who refuses the orders can be held in contempt. For most serious cases, the Department of Corrections can order a jail to close temporarily or permanently.
In response to the initial inspection done in Madison County this year, the current jailer, Larry Brock, sent a “corrective action plan.”
For hygiene and maintenance of the jail, Brock said they hired a full-time maintenance worker who was tasked with fixing all plumbing and electrical problems. There was also a full-time sanitation officer who was assigned to handle general hygiene of the common areas in the jail.
For the lack of timely observations and overcrowding, Brock said fixing these problems was not practical because there were too many inmates and the staff was overworked.
“We unfortunately continue to be overcrowded,” Brock wrote. “We have contracted with other local facilities to alleviate some of this issue.”
Brock said staff assigned to monitoring inmates also have to do other essential tasks, such as intakes and releases, dealing with medication, handling food service, assisting with sanitation and laundry, and more.
“Each of these duties is operationally necessary and carries safety, legal or regulatory significance,” Brock said. “None are of lesser importance than visual observations; rather, all are required components of safe jail management that must be performed concurrently by limited personnel.”
Brock made other arguments and plans in his response to the Department of Corrections, but that information was not made available to the Herald-Leader. In response to the Herald-Leader’s open records request, Corrections Commissioner Cookie Crews said disclosing some of the information from Brock would be a “security threat.”
“The Commissioner of the Department has deemed the disclosure of this information to constitute a security threat as it would provide opportunities for inmates to engage in activities which threaten the safety of staff, inmates, and the public by revealing vulnerabilities in the current system,” the open records response reads.
Brock was appointed to serve as jailer in 2024 after the former jailer, Steve Tussey, retired before his term expired. Brock was defeated in the May Primary, and will be replaced by another former jailer, Doug Thomas.
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