Georgia sheriff denies inmates released because of crowding

Officials in a coastal Georgia county deny they are releasing inmates because of crowding.

Chatham County spokeswoman Brittany Denney told The Savannah Morning News officials are not releasing inmates because there are too many inmates at the jail.

Chief Deputy Billy Freeman said there were about 1,740 inmates in the jail Tuesday morning. The jail can hold 2,360 people.

Denney said officials got calls late last week from people who were worried the jail was nearing capacity and was planning to release inmates to deal with the crowding.

Freeman said he doubts the jail will ever reach capacity.

The number of beds at the jail nearly doubled following an $85 million expansion that was completed in 2014.

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Information from: Savannah Morning News, http://www.savannahnow.com