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Wake County’s chief public defender says his office has been highlighting jail overcrowding for months in bail hearings before county judges.
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“Since the beginning, we’ve told judges that there are 1,700 people in jail, then 1,800, now 1,900,” Wake County Public Defender Deonté Thomas said Friday.
While numbers fluctuate, the jail had 1,931 inmates Thursday — far above the 1,574 it was built for.
Thomas says his office has cited the overcrowding in arguing that more people should be released on bail before trial rather than being held in jail, especially when it comes to smaller, “low-level” crimes.
“I don’t care how many times people steal from a Circle-K, if we have 1,900 people in jail they probably don’t need to be one of them,” Thomas said.
On Thursday, Sheriff Willie Rowe held a news conference to describe steps he is taking to address overcrowding: repurposing rooms to hold more inmates, getting deputies to help staff the detention center and speaking with judges to see what can be done.
Thomas echoed what many other officials in the justice system, including Rowe, have said: The problem started with Iryna’s Law, which took effect Dec. 1. The law, named for Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska who was murdered on a Charlotte light rail train in 2025, makes it more difficult for people charged with violent crimes to be released from jail on bail.
He added that the county needs more people in the courts — public defenders, prosecutors and judges — to help move cases along faster so people awaiting trial don’t stay in jails.
“Jail is not the right place to fix societal issues,” he said.
While WRAL reported earlier this week that Rowe said he was encouraging officers to use discretion in making arrests, he said Thursday he’s not asking for fewer arrests.
“If we can encourage people not to commit crime as a means of survival or acceptance or control hopefully those arrests will go down,” Rowe said during his news conference.
Wake County plans to reopen its detention center annex, across from the main detention center on Hammond Road, which will add 240 more beds in 2027.
But the long-term solution — expanding the main Wake County jail building — is still years away.
Wake County, which funds the sheriff’s office, is not taking any additional measures at this time, a county spokesperson said.
“The County continues to work with Sheriff Rowe and his staff on options to assist with the detention center issues,” county spokesperson Kate Maroney told The News & Observer on Thursday. “We are working as quickly as possible through our capital project staff to reopen the annex facility. We do not have any additional initiatives to announce at this time.”
Thomas said that he expects the inmate overcrowding to continue to get worse in the meantime.
Rowe said the number of arrests has stayed steady. The problem is that more people in jail can’t post bail.
The number of inmates held on charges related to Iryna’s Law without a set bail increased from 140 last November to 530 as of Aug. 25.
And Rowe said bails are being set at higher amounts, making it harder for inmates to pay.
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Rowe said the jail is also holding around 100 state prisoners who have yet to be transferred out because of prison staffing shortages.
The sheriff’s office is also shorthanded, with 329 detention staff members. It’s authorized for 399, meaning it’s 70 positions short.
As part of reopening the annex, the county plans to hire 92 new employees at county jails, costing an additional $7 million.
The sheriff’s office is also using deputies to help staff the jail. But Rowe said that’s not affecting law enforcement because he typically uses deputies already scheduled for overtime, as well as deputies in administrative positions or who are on special response teams when there are no operations happening.
“We haven’t had any medical issues that we have not been able to address,” Rowe added. But it’s important to have enough staff to observe inmates, he said, because not every inmate will disclose a medical condition.
Wiley Nickel, the presumptive Wake County District Attorney next year, has repeated often that his office needs more prosecutors to help take up cases more quickly.
He’s said Mecklenburg County has 95 prosecutors and Wake County, which is larger, has 45, and he’s asked Wake County for $2 million to hire more prosecutors.
But Rowe said Mecklenburg County, despite having double the prosecutors, also has an overcrowding problem. Its jail capacity is about 1,900, but the population has grown to almost 2,200, according to WCNC.
Both Rowe and Thomas said that prosecutors are just one component of what’s needed to fix the problem.
There are 31 public defenders, and Thomas said that a study indicated the county needs 25 more.
“Without more public defenders to talk to prosecutors about cases, without more judges to rule, it won’t matter” if there are more prosecutors, Thomas said.
Rowe said conditions at the jail are not “inhumane” but they are challenging.
“About any alleged statement about the condition of the jail — we’re addressing it accordingly,” he said. “Staff is doing a phenomenal job and needs to be commended for what they’re doing.”
Rowe said the extra inmates are being housed — including on portable mattresses — in multi-purpose rooms, which are sometimes used by nonprofits or for other programming at the jails. They have cancelled afternoon sessions twice because of overcrowding.
The multipurpose rooms are separate from classrooms used for educational purposes.
Rowe said the jail is working to make sure inmates are safe and secure in non-traditional housing areas.
But Thomas said that people housed in the jail are accused of a crime, and they’re presumed innocent.
“They need to be fed and clothed and have all their rights protected,” he said. “Not sleeping on the floor.”
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This story was originally published August 28, 2026 at 5:30 AM.