For Immediate Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 14, 2026

AUTAUGA COUNTY COMMISSION ANNOUNCES DISMISSAL OF SHERIFF’S LAWSUIT

PRATTVILLE, AL – Autauga County Sheriff Mark Harrell’s lawsuit against the Autauga County Commission, and the people of Autauga County, has been dismissed for the failure of the Sheriff to state any grounds upon which he is entitled to relief, the Autauga County Commission announced today. Circuit Judge Donald McMillan, sitting specially over the case, determined that the sheriff failed to show damages and failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. McMillan, therefore, in ruling upon a motion to dismiss filed by the Commission, dismissed the suit and barred Harrell from bringing any future suit concerning the same claims. Last year, Harrell sued the Commission over what he said was poor conditions of the jail and what he claimed was inadequate funding of his department, which included his request that his own salary be increased by at least 82% and ignored that more than half of the County General Fund budget each year goes to the Sheriff’s budget.

When learning of the judge’s ruling, County Commission Chairman Jay Thompson responded with thanks and a desire to move forward. “I’m just glad this case is over. No one in Autauga County has benefited from this ordeal, and I look forward to putting it behind us. Sadly, this debacle has cost taxpayers millions of dollars that could have been used in ways to actually benefit our community.”

“We had a strong team, from the Commissioners to the Commission-staff to my co-counsel, Rick Williams,” said County Attorney Kyle Shirley about the positive legal outcome the Commission achieved on behalf of the people of Autauga County. “It was truly a team effort that allowed us to present the complete picture to the Judge by laying out the facts and the law. Our statements of facts in our initial motion was almost twenty pages long. From his ruling, it’s clear the Judge saw what we have said all along—that the Commission has been actively working to address these issues.”

“Unfortunately, Sheriff Harrell chose not to work with the Commission on a plan that had been in place and moving forward since before he was appointed to his office. Simply put, the Judge’s ruling is that the Sheriff failed to present any argument that would result in him getting something from the Court. In his lawsuit, the facts and the law did not support his position. Thankfully, the Judge saw it the way the County Commission has seen it from Day One, the County Commission has done everything in its power to handle these issues without resorting to knee-jerk reactions. The fact that he sued for additional courthouse security positions, but had not included them in his budget request, I think weighed heavily. I also believe the fact that Sheriff requested an 82% pay raise for himselfduring this process was definitely noticed by the Court.”

JAIL RENOVATIONSBEGAN PRIOR TO SHERIFF HARRELL’S LAWSUIT 

            Harrell had full knowledge the County was already aware of the infrastructure needs of the jail and was already addressing his concerns, but yet chose to file a baseless lawsuit, for which Autauga County residents have been forced to foot the bill. The lawsuit was filed after the County completed a mold remediation project and when the County was already nearly a year into a construction project on the jail and courthouse facility at a total cost of almost $18 million. The renovation project, which began in November 2022, was undertaken to modernize aging infrastructure, improve safety, and ensure long-term operational reliability.

In November 2022 the Autauga County Commission engaged PH&J Architects, Inc. to oversee the renovation of these facilities. During the project, PH&J worked closely with experts, County Staff, then-Sheriff Joe Sedinger, and later, the then-recently appointed Sheriff Harrell, with other staff members to develop a plan for the renovation in phases with a goal to not interrupt operations of the jail and the Courthouse. Construction formally began in September 2023 with the replacement of the roofs at both facilities. A second phase, awarded in June 2024, included major upgrades to jail controls and electronic systems. It was during the process of awarding the second phase that the Sheriff made his decision to evacuate the jail.

At the time of the evacuation, no testing had yet taken place to determine if mold was present; in fact, instead of waiting for such a test, Harrell alerted the media and evacuated the jail while qualified personnel sent by the County Commission were on site to perform the necessary testing.

County Commission Chairman Jay Thompson can’t help but to reflect on how the evacuation was unnecessary and was undertaken by Harrell without knowing all the facts and the whole truth of the circumstance. The Sheriff has attempted to make it sound like the County Commission did not care about the health and safety of everyone in the jail, but he scheduled the evacuation on the day we had testing scheduled, after we had previously rescheduled the examination based upon the request of his staff, and while we were working on renovating the jail”, Thompson said. “Harrell didn’t even have his own contractor inspect the jail until several days after he staged the mass evacuation. This ready,fire, aim mentality did not help the situation and unfortunately cost the taxpayers of Autauga County a lot of money.”

DESPITE THE ALLCLEAR, SHERIFF HARRELL’S THEATRICS CONTINUE

After the rushed evacuation of the jail, the County substantially and quickly modified the phased renovation plan to include full remediation and additional renovations. The previously planned phased construction schedule was modifiedto a remediation plan and a one phase renovation plan. The Autauga County Commission went above and beyond the recommendations of environmental professionals, and the County retained Stallings and Sons, Inc. to perform comprehensive remediation of the jail facility. That work was completed in October 2024, nearly six weeks ahead of schedule. The final renovation contract was awarded to Matthes Parker, LLC in December 2024. On December 16, 2025, County Administrator Scott Kramer notified stakeholders that substantial completion was anticipated and allowing the Sheriff sufficient time to begin preparing for the return inmates. The project reached substantial completion on February 4, 2026 when PH&J Architects provided notice to the County Commission that the jail project was ready to be turned over to the County for use by the Sheriff. The County promptly notified the Sheriff of the jail being ready for re-population.

Though the jail has been cleared by professional inspections for the safe return of inmates and staff, to date, Harrell continues to be theatrical, rather than practical and effective, as he has yet to provide the County Commission with any plan which describes a process to re-occupy the jail. Despite Harrell’s lack of action, as opposed to his over reaction of evacuating the jail, County officials are optimistic that a plan will be announced soon to stop the expenditure of county tax dollars, currently in excess of $3 million, to houseinmates outside of the Autauga Metro Jail.

On December 19, 2025, Trent Hill, a Registered Environmental Manager, the highest professional level of certification available from the National Registry of Environmental Professionals, and a Certified Environmental and Safety Officer provided airborne testing of the jail facility. He found the air samples to have lower mold levels than the outdoor air samples, which is a good indicator that the building is not experiencing abnormal mold growth. He also found no areas of visible mold growth. At the time of Mr. Hill’s inspection, the Sheriff’s office had their mold tester onsite, but he did not take any air samples, despite being invited to do so. Instead, he came back outside of the planned testing time and performed testing without others present.

On December 29, 2025, a walk-through of the jail was held for stakeholders: local judges, law enforcement, and government officials. Those in attendance included Presiding Judge Amanda Baxley, Circuit Judge Joy Pace Booth, Circuit Judge Patrick Pinkston, District Attorney C.J. Robinson, representatives of the City of Prattville, Town of Pine Level, Town of Billingsley, State Representatives Kelvin Lawrence, Van Smith, and Jerry Starnes.

Not present, despite being invited, was any representative of the Autauga County Sheriff’s Office and no reason was given for their absence.

During almost the two-hour walk through the architects, contractors, and representatives of the Autauga County Commission were able to tour the jail, ask any questions, and see first-hand the renovation of the project. Copies of Mr. Hill’s most recent testing results were made available to all inattendance. Further, Judge McMillan toured the jail on January 21, 2026 with all of the parties to the lawsuit present and provided all parties the opportunity to highlight any issues.

During the initial jail tour, Patrick Addison of PH&J Architects, Inc. stated, “what you see today is essentially a brand-new jail,” He continued, “the HVAC and exhaust systems have been completely redesigned and replaced, the jail security and control systems have been modernized with touchscreen controls and updated CCTV, and the fire alarm system has been fully certified. New ceilings, lighting, flooring, and finishes complete the transformation.”

Chairman Thompson added, “from the very beginning, when the Sheriff started making public statements, the Commission made it clear we would not get into a public back-and-forth. Instead, we kept our focus where it belongs—on solving problems and working with professionals and experts to do what’s best for all the peopleof Autauga County. Our citizens don’t want to hear arguments; they want to see progress. That has been our goal from day one, and it guides every decision we make.”

Following the dismissal of the lawsuit, Commissioner Rusty Jacksland said “the Court’s decision confirms what we’ve been saying all along: this Commission is committed to protecting and serving the people of Autauga County. Many people may not realize that nearly 60% of our General Fund budget goes directly to the Sheriff’s Office and the Jail. That’s in addition to major costs tied to renovations and this legal process. It’s safe to say that we invest heavily in public safety.” Commissioner Jacksland, a retired Prattville Police Officer added “I’ve been in this jail many times over the years, and I’ve never seen it look as great as it does now.”

County Administrator Scott Kramer explained the renovation background “In late 2022, the Commission hired an architecture firm with extensive experience in correctional facilities to design renovations for both the jail and the courthouse. Sheriff Harrell was included in that planning process from the time he was appointed by the Governor. When the Sheriff began his public statements, we had already completed the first phase and were waiting for submission of bids on the second of four phases designed by the architects. Throughout this episode, we have relied upon trained professionals to advise us on the best course of action.”

“We hired an environmental expert to provide an analysis of the mold in the jail and scheduled his inspection with the Sheriff’s staff. The day we were testing was the day the Sheriff announced he was closing the jail. We got the results and immediately began working on a plan based on the advice of experts instead of knee-jerk reactions. The County went above and beyond what was recommendedby the environmental expert and provided a full-scale renovation. When we were thrown a curveball, PH&J and the County Commission were able to quickly adapt and move forward.”

According to Kramer, Harrell’s actions forced the County to abandon the long-planned renovation efforts and completely alter the schedule, costing the County additional time and money in the process. “Through the County Commission’s work with PH&J Architects and Matthes Parker, LLC, we have turned the facility over to the Sheriff to begin the process of re-occupying the jail. We are looking forward to the return of inmates to the jail and stopping the needless flow of Autauga County dollars to fund other Sheriff’s Offices.”

SHERIFF HARRELL’S UNNECESSARY ACTIONS RECKLESSLY COST

AUTAUGA COUNTY CITIZENS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

Kramer added that since the Sheriff’s unilateral evacuation of the jail, Autauga County has spent almost $3 million housing inmates in other counties. “We are thankful for our County partners across the state for housing our inmates during this situation, but we are ready to bring our inmates back and stopsending Autauga County dollars to other counties.”  On top of the more than $3 million in direct costs for housing inmates, the County Commission has spent more than $18 million on the renovation project for the jail and the courthouse. This does not include the indirect costs such as fuel, wear and tear on vehicles, and the manpower of transporting inmates all over the state.Chairman Thompson added “unfortunately, the evacuation of the jail caused us to spend a lot of extra tax dollars that could have been used here at home. As a Commission we are committed to being good stewards of the citizens’ money. We had to handle the situation based on things we could not control. At the end ofthe day, the people of Autauga County don’t want to hear arguments; they want to see progress and that is what we have delivered. Unfortunately, $3 million that could have been used here in Autauga County was sent to other counties.”

            Commission staff explained that the approximately$3 million used to house inmates outside of the Autauga Metro Jail could havebeen used for numerous other items. Examples provided of potential uses of the $3million of taxpayer funds sent to other Counties: purchase approximately 50vehicles for the Sheriff’s office and other departments; provided the salaryand benefits for the addition of 9 additional deputies for the next 5 years;constructed a new senior center in the County; reduced the County’s debt by$3,000,000 (including offsetting the $12 million debt related to the renovationproject); provided the Autauga County Board of Education to pay the salaries of63 teachers; and paving numerous roadways throughout the County. Kramer added,“Unfortunately, because of the Sheriff’s evacuation of the jail and the costs of having to house inmates outside of our jail, $3 million in Autauga Countytaxpayer’s dollars were sent to other counties for their benefit, rather thanbeing spent here for the resident’s those dollars were intended to help.” 

COMMISSIONERSREADY TO MOVE FORWARD

Prior to the hearing on February 10, 2026, Patrick Addison of PH&J Architects,Inc., the architect for the project, provided notice that the jail had reached substantial completion. According to Mr. Addison the facility is fully prepared to resume operations. Mr. Addison stated: “The renovation of the Autauga County Metro Jail is substantially complete, and the jail is ready for staff and inmate repopulation. All standards have been met; the facility is up to current code for all life safety systems. All that remains is a punch list of items to be completed, as in all construction projects, which will be completed within thirty days. Most importantly, these remaining tasks can be completed during repopulation without disrupting jail operations.”

As a result of the Sheriff’s rushed evacuation of the jail, the County modified the phased renovation plan to include full remediation and additional renovations. the phased construction plan was modified to a remediation planand a renovation plan. The Autauga County Commission went above and beyond the recommendations of environmental professionals, and County retained Stallings and Sons, Inc. to perform comprehensive remediation of the jail facility. That work was completed in October 2024, nearly six weeks ahead of schedule.

The final renovation contract was awarded to Matthes Parker, LLC in December 2024. On December 16, 2025, County Administrator Scott Kramer notified stakeholders that substantial completion was imminent and notified the Sheriff that he could begin the process of planning for re-population of the jail.

Ben Matthes, President of Matthes Parker, LLC stated “Matthes Parker is thankful to have this opportunity to help Autauga County. Through a team effort, we have been able to reoccupy the jail as quickly as possible. This would not have been possible without everyone working tirelessly together. Thank you to Autauga County, PH&J, and Matthes Parker LLC’s very own Jon-Paul Sims and Jeremy Monroe who managed this effort.”

County leadership emphasized the importance of proactive maintenance moving forward. “As the owner of these facilities, the County will be implementing clear maintenance protocols to protect this investment and prevent future issues,” said Commission Chairman Jay Thompson. “We are committed to responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.” Mr. Addison added, “I recommend the County should take a proactive role in supervising the buildings maintenance and systems to prevent future issues.” Thompson added, “my hope is that the Sheriff will be willing to work with the Commission moving forward. I can confidently say that we have always had an open-door policy. He has my number and can call me anytime.”

Previously, the Commission did not have a formal plan for maintenance of the jail and relied upon the Autauga County Sheriff’s Office to maintain the cleanliness of the facility they were using. “Going forward, we are going to work with the experts to come up with protocols for keeping the jail clean, so we don’t find ourselves in this mess again. As the owner of the building, we will be putting in place a policy for what we expect from those using our County buildings” said Commission Chairman Jay Thompson. Commissioner John Thrailkill, a homebuilder, believes that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that’s especially true here. When I came up with recommendations for cleaning the jail before they evacuated, the staff were not receptive to the idea of keeping their own workplace clean. That can’t happen going forward.”

County Attorney Kyle Shirley closed by saying, “It is my sincere hope that with dismissal of this lawsuit it is now case closed on this matter.”

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For anyone interested, the Commission has attached copies of its Motion to Dismiss and its reply, which include detailed statements of the facts presented to the Court. Autauga Countywas represented by Kyle Shirley of McDowell, Faulk & Shirley, LLC in Prattville and Rickman E. Williams, III of Pitts, Williams, & Jones in Selma.

About Matthes Parker,LLC 

Matthes Parker LLC is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and HUB Zone certified general contractor based in Auburn, Alabama providing services for Federal, State, and Local governments along with commercial entities across the Southeast. Matthes Parker is led by Ben Matthes, Jon-Paul Sims serves as the Project Manager for the Jail and Courthouse Renovation, with Jeremy Monroe serving as the Superintendent of the projects.

About PH&J Architects,Inc. 

PH&J Architects, Inc. is an architectural firm founded in 1957 in Montgomery, Alabama. They have provided service on over 130 detention facility projects including work for the Alabama Department of Corrections, Baldwin County Jail, Elmore County Correctional Facility, Lee County Jail, Limestone County Jail, Montgomery County Jail, and Mobile County Metro Jail Complex. PH&J’ s work on the project is led by Patrick T. Addison, AIA and Steven Hall, AIA, with Justin Whitehead serving as the field representative.