CLEVELAND, Ohio — The inmate population in Cuyahoga County’s downtown jail has dropped 13 percent in the 10 weeks since the U.S. Marshals Service reviewed the facility and identified “inhumane” conditions and severe crowding.

The jail population as of Monday, the latest numbers made available to cleveland.com, stood at 2,103. Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 of last year, the time of the Marshals Service review, the jail held 2,420 inmates, according to the marshals' report.

In response to inquiries from cleveland.com as to what caused the drop in the number of inmates, Common Pleas Administrative Judge John J. Russo provided the following statement:

“I am aware of concerted efforts being made by all stakeholders in the justice system to review the jail population. Our Court is always mindful of those people we have in custody. However, the Court does not manage the jail or its operations. I cannot speculate on the overall reduction in population.”

In response to the same inquiry from cleveland.com, county spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said it is “a question best answered by the court."

The jail is designed to accommodate about 1,765 inmates, but crowding has been a chronic problem.

The average number of inmates in the first week of January was 2,090. That’s less than the daily average of inmates in 2015 and 2016, as well as 2017, when the average was 2,263, according to data from the Sheriff’s Office.

The marshals reviewed the downtown jail and two satellite jails at the county’s request following the deaths of seven inmates in four months. An eighth inmate died Dec. 30.

The marshals reported that many inmates were forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor due to a lack of beds.

Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Michael Nelson in early October vowed not to send people accused of non-violent crimes to the jail because he believed the facility was no longer safe.

Days after the release of the marshals’ report, Russo asked his 33 colleagues to review the number of people they confined to jail.

Each common pleas judge has a list of inmates awaiting trial, sentencing or transportation to a prison or another facility. The list also includes people accused of violating their probation.

“I am simply asking that we each take a closer look at our individual lists,” Russo said in a Nov. 29 letter to the other judges.

Russo sent the letter after learning of an impending lawsuit, now filed, that seeks federal oversight of the county jail.