By Miles Layton

EDENTON — Chowan County’s empty jail will stay empty.

Martin County officials have told the county they won’t pursue using the facility to house inmates displaced by the closure of the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail.

County Manager Kevin Howard told the Chowan County Board of Commissioners Tuesday that he had spoken with Martin County Manager Drew Batts earlier in the week, and that Martin County has decided to go in another direction rather than pursue any plans to formulate an agreement seeking to use the Chowan County Jail.

Worth noting, the decision follows a detailed letter Chowan County Sheriff Edward “Scooter” Basnight sent to the Board of Commissioners and Howard in mid-August, laying out why he believed reopening the Edenton facility for an outside jurisdiction was a bad idea. Basnight’s full letter appears at the end of this story.

Basnight’s objections centered on staffing and oversight: he noted that Bertie-Martin Regional Jail was operating with roughly five staff members, and that Chowan County had no visibility into their training or qualifications.

“A minimum of eleven trained personnel — whom we would have no authority to vet, approve, or supervise — would be required to safely and effectively operate our detention center,” Basnight wrote.

Basnight also raised concerns about who exactly would end up behind bars in his community. “It is reasonable to expect that BMRJ would relocate inmates with greater medical, mental health, or supervision needs, as these individuals are often the most difficult for other facilities to house and supervise,” he wrote, adding that such inmates would likely require frequent trips to ECU Health Chowan Hospital, with local EMS and law enforcement covering supervision that a thinly staffed outside agency could not provide.

The sheriff argued the burden wouldn’t stop at hospital runs. He wrote that both his office and the Edenton Police Department “would bear responsibility for responding to fights, disturbances, or incidents requiring investigation and follow-up,” along with handling inmate movements and lockdowns inside a facility Chowan County would no longer control.

“For these reasons, as the elected Sheriff of Chowan County, I cannot support the use of the Chowan County Detention Center by any outside agency,” Basnight wrote.

The update closes out a recent question mark that had hung over the vacant, twenty-three-bed facility since the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail in Windsor went offline in late June, after an inmate takeover in which two guards were held hostage. That facility sustained interior damage and remains non-functional as the State Bureau of Investigation continues its probe.

Chowan County commissioners voted in March to close their own aging jail and shift local inmates to the regional Albemarle District Jail in Elizabeth City, citing high maintenance costs at the 1970s-era building, chronic staffing shortages and operational limitations. But because the county never completed the formal state decommissioning process, the Chowan facility technically remained an open jail — sitting empty, unstaffed, but still usable on paper. That loophole is what put it on Bertie and Martin counties’ radar once their own regional jail went dark.

These days, the only thing occupying a cell at the Chowan County Detention Center is Chowan County’s Confederate memorial, which has been kept inside the empty facility since it was removed from public display at midnight on Labor Day weekend a year ago.

Howard first raised the possibility of a deal at an earlier commission meeting, telling the board that Bertie-Martin officials had reached out about the vacant Edenton facility.

The urgency on Bertie and Martin’s end was tied to where their inmates have been scattered in the meantime. At least one inmate displaced by the June takeover ended up at the Catawba County Jail, more than four hours away in western North Carolina — a distance that has forced law enforcement officers from the region to spend long stretches away from their home counties simply transporting or checking on detainees.

Repeat — no agreement ever materialized.

Basnight also pointed to the building itself, calling out “structural and functional limitations” that had already factored into the decision to close it in the first place. Leasing it to an outside entity, he warned, risked triggering demands for costly repairs the county might not be able to fund — or enforcement headaches down the road.

Beyond logistics, Basnight framed the decision as a matter of community trust. He wrote that a detention center run by another jurisdiction “may raise concerns among residents regarding security, staffing stability, and the types of inmates housed in our community,” and said any path forward would require transparent communication with the public to preserve confidence in local safety.

The sheriff acknowledged the county could stand to gain some revenue by leasing the space, but said that upside didn’t outweigh the risks — or the awkward optics of reopening a jail the county had just spent months closing. “Residents will understandably question the decision to close the facility only to reopen it under external control,” he wrote.

Basnight said he had asked the state jail inspector to hold off on finalizing the facility’s formal closure designation, in order to preserve flexibility in case anything changed at the Albemarle District Jail. But his letter made clear that flexibility didn’t equal endorsement of the Bertie-Martin proposal.

Looking further ahead, Basnight suggested the county consider formally closing and eventually decommissioning the building for good — floating the idea of repurposing the site for expanded courthouse parking. Doing so, he argued, would head off future requests from other counties looking for jail space and spare Chowan from sinking money into a building it no longer needs.

Basnight credited commissioners for getting inmates out of a facility he said had grown unsafe for staff, detainees and the surrounding town. “Thanks to your leadership, inmates are no longer housed within the Town of Edenton or in a deteriorating facility that posed ongoing risks to staff, inmates, and the surrounding community,” he wrote, warning that reversing course now would undo that progress.

To: Chowan County Board of Commissioners
And County Manager Kevin Howard

I would like to outline several important considerations as you evaluate the proposal for Bertie‑Martin Regional Jail (BMRJ) to assume operations of the Chowan County Detention Center.

First, the facility’s inactive status presents significant operational challenges. BMRJ currently operates with approximately five staff members, and we have no information regarding their training, experience, or qualifications. A minimum of eleven trained personnel—whom we would have no authority to vet, approve, or supervise—would be required to safely and effectively operate our detention center. I am not aware of any arrangement that would allow Chowan County to have any authority over the types of inmates transferred to the facility. It is reasonable to expect that BMRJ would relocate inmates with greater medical, mental health, or supervision needs, as these individuals are often the most difficult for other facilities to house and supervise. Such inmates would likely require frequent transport to ECU Health Chowan Hospital by Chowan County EMS and a Law Enforcement escort. Given BMRJ’s limited staffing, they would not be able to provide hospital supervision, creating additional burdens for local law enforcement agencies to sit with the inmate until cleared by hospital staff to return to the facility.

Furthermore, both the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office and the Edenton Police Department would bear responsibility for responding to fights, disturbances, or incidents requiring investigation and follow‑up. This responsibility would also extend to inmate movements, lockdowns, and other operational events within the facility.

Second, the building’s structural and functional limitations have contributed to past safety concerns for both personnel and inmates—concerns that were central to the decision to house inmates elsewhere. Given these longstanding issues, it does not appear prudent to lease our jail to an outside entity that may deem the conditions inadequate or demand extensive improvements we may not be able to fund or accommodate. Such circumstances would create significant enforcement and compliance challenges in any future agreement.

Third, the broader impact on the community deserves thoughtful consideration. A detention center operated by an external jurisdiction may raise concerns among residents regarding security, staffing stability, and the types of inmates housed in our community. If the County elects to move forward, clear and transparent communication with the public would be essential to maintaining trust and addressing safety concerns. Any agreement should be made with the best interests of Chowan County, its citizens, and all involved parties in mind.

While BMRJ’s involvement may present revenue opportunities, residents will understandably question the decision to close the facility only to reopen it under external control. I have asked the state jail inspector to temporarily pause the formal closure designation to preserve flexibility should the Albemarle District Jail present any unexpected changes.

From a long‑term perspective, formally closing and ultimately decommissioning the facility—potentially repurposing the site for expanded courthouse parking—would reduce future pressure from outside agencies seeking to use the facility and prevent unnecessary investment in a building that is no longer viable.

Thanks to your leadership, inmates are no longer housed within the Town of Edenton or in a deteriorating facility that posed ongoing risks to staff, inmates, and the surrounding community. Allowing another jurisdiction to bring inmates into the center of our community—without our oversight—would reverse that progress and reintroduce significant safety and operational concerns.

For these reasons, as the elected Sheriff of Chowan County, I cannot support the use of the Chowan County Detention Center by any outside agency.

Thank you for your consideration of these points. I remain available to discuss this matter further at your convenience.

Sheriff Edward “Scooter” Basnight