MAY 16, 2019
Maleah Davis: Inside the ‘nightmare’ jail where mom’s boyfriend is held, as little girl remains missing for weeks
It’s been called a nightmare by a local attorney and “
unsafe and unhealthy” by Senator John Whitmire. Apparently, the man suspected of involvement in the disappearance of 4-year-old Maleah Davis is currently housed in a jail that’s no picnic, even for the most hardened criminals.
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Vence is housed on the sixth floor at the jail, which according to Chron, houses “
some of the jail’s most dangerous inmates.” He’s currently at the “JA07” location, off of N. San Jacinto in downtown Houston. It’s one of the largest jails in the nation, housing over 9,000 inmates.
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Visitation takes place in the lobby of the jail, but some inmates at the San Jacinto location also have the option of “off-site” visitation, at $5.99 per visitation. Off-site visitation allows inmates to talk to visitors who never have to leave home. Instead, they can talk via a webcam to the inmate.
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Vence has access to phones inside the pod he’s assigned to, but his
calls are monitored and come with steep collect call fees. He has no access to his own television, but shares a single television unit in the dayroom of his cell block, with numerous other inmates.
“Dirt like this gutter’s all over the floor — and feces, another man’s ****, on the floor,” inmate “Robert” told the outlet.
Other inmates said the showers had mildew, the smell was overwhelming, and at one point, the jail was so overcrowded that “kicking people in the head” was an easy way to wake someone up. The jail is currently working on its goals to decrease overcrowding.
Vence, along with most other inmates, eats in the cafeteria of the jail, located on the first floor. The food is substandard at best, typical of most jails, but the meals were reportedly so poor at the Harris County jail that in 2018, it failed a health inspection.
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Harris County jail at one point had one of the “worst sexual assault rates in the country.”
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