Advocates call for Nassau County Jail oversight, sheriff's resignation

Advocates for inmates at Nassau County Jail are demanding oversight at the East Meadow facility and say conditions at the jail are worse than ever before. 
The group announced the formation of the Nassau County Jail Coalition, which they say will confront unacceptable conditions at the jail. 
The coalition claims inhumane conditions at the jail led to the deaths of 13 inmates since 2011. 
Among the coalition's demands are timely medical care, weekend visitation for families, limited use of solitary confinement and drug rehabilitation programs. The coalition is also calling for Sheriff Michael Sposato to resign. 
"He's not accessible. They are not transparent. They don't answer to anyone," says Susan Gottehrer, of the Nassau County Jail Coalition. "It is really the Wild West inside the jail." 
Democratic Nassau County legislators also drafted legislation that would overhaul the current oversight board known as the Board of Visitors. In February, Democrats in the Nassau Legislature also called for the sheriff to resign over what they called his "gross mismanagement" of the jail.
The Nassau County Sheriff's Department released a statement saying the "vague and broad-based allegations such as those being asserted by the demonstrators are an unwarranted attack on the integrity and professionalism of all our employees at the correctional center."