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| Charities Lose Inmate Use |
| By clarionledger.com |
| Published: 06/22/2009 |
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Charities lose inmate use Hinds sheriff says he didn't know state law was violated Heather Civil -June 19, 2009 Hinds County no longer will allow state inmates to perform public service for charitable organizations. The Sheriff's Department has been sending Mississippi Department of Corrections trusties into the community for years, apparently in violation of state law. Inmates must be accompanied by armed guards any time they leave the jail, MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps said. "The law is the law," he said. Sheriff Malcolm McMillin said he was unaware his department was violating the law when he allowed trusties to work at charities such as Habitat for Humanity, Stewpot Community Services and the American Red Cross. Because only one or two inmates work at each place, it's not cost effective to have armed guards with them, sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Pickett said. There never has been a safety or security problem with any of the trusties, he added. Trusties are nonviolent offenders who, by virtue of their trustworthiness and good behavior, are given added responsibilities. The sheriff has taken about 20 trusties out of public-service assignments, leaving at least one nonprofit in a pinch. Stewpot Executive Director Frank Spencer had to tell a clerical worker, also a state trusty, earlier this week that she could not come back to work. "This is heartbreaking to hear this news about the Department of Corrections' decision," he said. "Stewpot has benefited greatly from the assistance Sheriff McMillin has given us." A court order filed at the beginning of June by the state puts an end to sending trusties off site. Should Hinds continue the practice, the state will remove its inmates. And the state pays the county about $20 per inmate, per day, to house its prisoners. "I'm going to have to notify those nonprofits that we will no longer be able to do that unless we send an armed guard with one person," McMillin said. It will cost Stewpot $25,000 to hire someone to replace a trusty, Spencer said. The organization also used to get help from trusty carpenters, Spencer said. Overalll, he figures not having trusties will cost Stewpot $50,000 a year. MDOC has 23 inmates at the 173-bed detention center in downtown Jackson. Habitat for Humanity uses trusties to help build homes. Not having the help is a loss for the charity and also the inmates, Habitat Executive Director Cindy Griffin. "It's a good learning experience for the inmates," she said. Since 1983, the state has renewed a standing agreement with Hinds County to house state prisoners downtown without inspection of the facility or its records, prisoners' rights attorney Ron Welch said. The state last year changed that policy, and Welch now must inspect each facility every year before the agreement is renewed. On a recent inspection of the downtown jail, Welch found the trusties out in the community working. State law says only inmates classified as minimum-security at a joint state/county work center may work outside the jail, Welch said.Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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