WAYNESVILLE - The state official in charge of making jail safety a top priority criticized one of his inspectors Tuesday for warning that problems in the Haywood County Jail could prove fatal.

State Jail and Detention Section Chief Robert Lewis promised he would make sure faulty cell doors are fixed but said an inspector was "supersensitive" for saying in a report the problem could cost lives in a fire.

"Ernest maybe shouldn't have made that comment. That's his opinion," Lewis said. "It's a poor choice of words."

State inspector Ernest Dixon wrote in a November report that Haywood County repeatedly has failed to fix cell doors that no longer easily slide to release inmates quickly in an emergency.

"It must be repaired immediately," Dixon wrote in his report. "Please respond."

In one case, the county has placed a chain and padlock on a door to a cell that holds five inmates because that door will no longer stay locked.

"You don't put a padlock or a chain lock on a door," Lewis said after hearing about the practice from the Citizen- Times. "You don't just go in and makeshift a lock on the door."

Sheriff Tom Alexander said that's the only way the door would stay locked since it cannot be repaired. He told county commissioners Monday that the jail is "an accident waiting to happen."

Lewis has taken the lead role for North Carolina in improving safety in county jails following a May 3 fire in Mitchell County that killed eight inmates.

A N.C. Department of Labor review of that fire found inspectors from three separate government agencies failed to detect safety deficiencies.

Lewis could not say whether his office had taken any steps to try to resolve the issue in Haywood, though three state inspections over two years found problems, including the faulty cell doors. "We're doing a credible job of bringing about corrective action in Haywood County now that it's an issue," Lewis said. "We will get the locks fixed or close the cells."

Alexander said he had not been contacted by the state about corrective measures until Lewis called Tuesday after questions from the Citizen-Times.

Haywood County Commissioners have debated for years building a new jail along with a justice center and a parking deck. Residents have said they support the projects but they balked at the cost.

Commissioners have pledged support for erecting a $13 million dollar jail on property that Haywood has acquired in the Hazelwood community. County manager Jack Horton said the board must decide how to pay for the construction.

"That's a major problem for us right now," said Commissioner Kevin Ensley.

In his 29 years of working within the Jail and Detention Section, Lewis said, he has never closed a jail because of a lack of repairs and he doesn't plan to close the Haywood County facility.

"Because the locks aren't working, should the whole jail be closed? No."

Citizen Times

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2003