by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

The Washington County Jail is almost full. 

Of 42 available beds, 38 are occupied, and nearly a quarter of its inmates — eight men and one woman — are charged with murder, setting a grim new record for the region.

“We passed the old record three murders ago,” said Washington County Jail Administrator Rich Rolfe. “This is an unusual and inordinate amount of murder cases.”