In the heart of Asheville, just steps from Pack Square, stands the Buncombe County Jail. While tourists explore one of the most popular tourist destinations in western North Carolina, the detention center It operates beyond its capacity and faces overcrowding problems.
County officials attribute the overcrowding to several factors: recent changes to pretrial release rules following the implementation of Iryna's Act, increased jail admissions, and people remaining in custody for longer periods.
But the situation also raises questions for the local justice system. Why are more people being detained? How do ICE detainers influence this? And what about people who arrive in jail with mental health or substance abuse problems?
What's going on at the Buncombe County Jail?
The population of the Buncombe County Jail has steadily increased in recent months, a situation that, according to the Sheriff's Office from Buncombe County, is already affecting the center's operations.
During a presentation to the board of commissioners on June 2, Lee Crayton, supervisor of analytics for the county's Department of Strategy and Innovation, said the jail is "currently operating above its operational and design capacity."
He explained that the center has an operational capacity of 470 people and a design capacity of 524 people. The former refers to the number of people the jail can safely house with the available staff and services; the latter refers to the capacity for which the building was designed.
He also noted that the men's units have regularly exceeded operational capacity since January and that in May some cells began to be double-occupied.
A problem that worsened after the pandemic
The jail's capacity has changed over the years. Matthew Marshall, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, explained to Enlace Latino NC The North Tower and the annex opened in 1994 with a capacity for about 354 people.
In 2006, the Central Tower was added, increasing the complex's capacity to 604 beds. However, the annex closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened, reducing available capacity by 80 beds.
The figures show that the pressure on the prison system continues.
According to Sheriff's Office data recordThe average daily population so far in 2026 is 498.3 people, 16.8% higher than in the same period last year. During the last week, it fluctuated between 504 and 528 people, once again exceeding the center's operational capacity.
The population increase is also a concern for those who work daily in the judicial system. “Before, if the jail reached 415 people, our office was already very worried,” he told Enlace Latino NC Elliot Spector, Deputy Public Defender for Buncombe County.
Spector explained that the prison population reached 543 detainees in recent weeks, the highest number he can recall seeing. According to the advocate, this increase is hindering the prison's operations and posing challenges to the safety and care of those in custody.
Iryna's Law, the main factor behind the increase
During the presentation, Crayton explained that, along with increased revenue and longer stays, changes in pretrial release rules have contributed to more people remaining in custody.
Iryna's Law, which began to be applied in December 2025That was precisely what changed the conditions for granting freedom before trial.
Among other changes:
- It eliminated the possibility of granting a written promise to appear
- restricted the use of unsecured bail for certain offenses
- and limited the cases in which a magistrate can set the conditions of release.
These changes had consequences for the prison population: the number of people detained while awaiting the outcome of their case. It increased by 20% between May 2025 and May 2026.
Spector agrees that the law has had a significant impact on the increase in the prison population“If in the last ten years a person has had three convictions for Class 1 or higher misdemeanors, they are no longer eligible for unsecured bail,” he explained.
Related: Immigrants commit fewer crimes than Americans, according to a study
Without funds to pay bail, more people remain in custody
In practice, this means that some people who previously could await the outcome of their case outside of jail now remain detained because Iryna's law requires a bail guaranteed for certain crimes and criminal records, and they do not have the resources to pay for it.
In the city, one option is to resort to Asheville Community Bail Fund, an organization that helps cover bail for people who cannot afford it, especially from BIPOC communities. Enlace Latino NC He tried to contact them for an interview, but received no response at the time of publication.
Spector believes that these types of initiatives can help as long as the legislation remains in place: “In the absence of a change in the law, I think that if people donate to bail funds, that can help.”
More income and people spending longer in jail
The prison population has increased not only because more people are in custody, but also because more people are being admitted, especially for minor offenses.
Data presented by the Sheriff's Office shows that, between January and May of this year, revenues from minor crimes They increased by 25% compared to the same period in 2025, while revenue from serious crimes decreased by 2%. The largest increase was recorded in minor offenses.
People arrested are also spending more time in jail. According to the presentation, those facing felony charges spend an average of 39 days in custody, up from 26.7 days in 2018. In misdemeanor cases, the average increased from 5.5 to 7.7 days during the same period.
Related: ICE expands its presence in North Carolina as immigration detention reaches record high
Do ICE arrest warrants have an impact?
ICE arrest warrants They are not among the main causes of the increase in the prison population. However, Spector believes they may play a role in some cases.
As she explained, Iryna's law has changed the situation for some of her immigrant clients. Previously, they could await the outcome of their cases outside of jail. The requirement of guaranteed bail meant that some of her clients remained detained long enough for ICE to issue a detainer.
Spector clarified that he does not believe this is the primary factor in the increased jail population. He also pointed out that Buncombe does not have one of the largest immigrant populations in the state: according to him, the impact of ICE detainers could be greater in other counties with larger immigrant populations.
What role does mental health play in prison overcrowding?
One of the biggest challenges facing Buncombe jail is the number of people in custody with mental health problems and substance use.
During the presentation, Major Jill Banks reported that 223 detainees had mental health problems and 134 faced disorders related to the substance useHe also explained that the waiting list to get into Broughton Hospital, a state psychiatric hospital located in Morganton, ranges from 6 to 18 months.
For his part, Spector believes that the lack of access to mental health services also This contributes to the problem. He explained that, in some cases, people going through a crisis end up in the criminal justice system when they could have received other types of care.
You may be interested in: ICE activity reported in Charlotte and other North Carolina cities over the weekend
What is the county doing to address the problem?
Among the measures presented to the board of commissioners are expanding alternatives to incarceration for people accused of minor offenses, expediting court proceedings, and accelerating the transfer of convicted individuals to state prisons to free up space in the county jail. The possibility of temporarily housing some individuals in other jails to alleviate pressure on the facility is also being considered.
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