If I had to guess why the Sheriff said his department was not in need of a new jail would be due to frustration. I went back and looked up some of the articles during the time the new jail was purposed and voted on. Surprisingly enough it was Mr. Steve Berry who spoke loudly against the new jail. That jail in Woodbine was built in 1983. About the only stores still open here that was open in 1983 is Hardees & Seagulls. Back then instead of Mom N Pops you had Swanny Swifty and instead of Wal-Mart there was the Old Freds. That building is falling apart. People I have spoke to have stated that they are packed like sardines in there. That they don't even have adequate room in several areas of the building not just the jail housing unit. Think back when the vote for a new jail started, even in the face of a recommendation by the Georgia Sheriffs' Association calling for a new 368-bed jail, Steve Berry claimed it was not the old building but the old judges that was the problem. That the courts had mismanaged bonds of inmates and the old jail had another 10 years of operation left in it. Berry then proposed a meeting with Superior Court judges and the district attorney to determine if there is a way they could grant bonds to some inmates held in the jail and speed up the timetable for trials after an arrest. Other commissioners stated No cause they had already voted for this new Jail. Our county NEEDS a new jail. More so than a new elementary school downtown. St. Marys Elementary School has been in the town for many many decades. Most of the "originals" from here went to S.M.E.S., now we are going to tear it down cause we need a big shiny school downtown. We can build a new school about every 4 years, but one jail is one too many.
A LINK TO THE ORIGINAL TIMES UNION ARTICLE
Thursday, September 13, 2007
A Response to Viewers... Rick Rogers
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9 comments:
Working strictly from memory. I recall the following series of events.
Soemtime, right I the begining of the year, the sherrif was looking to build a new jail on some property a littl;e west of "downtown" Woodbine, out, I think that's 110 that hits 17 alongside city hall. There was a lot of NIMBY opposition, plus, if I recall some technical drawbacks - bad perc test, or something.
Those plans were abandoned.
The next thing I remeber is Wesley Walker presenting plans for a second story "pod" to be added on top of the existing jail. The figure of $3 million rings a bell.
I even seem to recall that the votes to do so were shaping up, if not actually there.
Then, suddenly, out of the blue, as it were, the sheriff, on his own intiative, bought a bunch of bunk beds, recalled farned out inmates to the existing jail, and abruptl announced that he couild make do with the jail he had.
Plans for the the pod were shelved.
That's my recollection. I thought it quite odd at the time.
Have you ever looked at the online list of inmates on the Sheriff's site.
Many inmates have been in our jail for years instead of being shipped off to state prison. That is why it is overcrowded.
Why is Bill not shipping them off to Nicholls.
Your buddy and famous meth maker William Murrell spent way to long in our jail.
Clean house and then see how much room you have.
Yes I have seen how many are waiting to go to prison or to a Probation Detention Center but Sheriff Smith has nothing to do with that. After the inmate is sentenced the judge sends the court order to the Dept of Correction or Probation. When the Dept has an opening for a new group of inmates they go down the list in order of waiting time of the inmate. Now the attorney of the inmate can request through the Dept of Correction or Probation to have their time done at the local facility but that approval comes from the DOC or DOP. Not our sheriff. There is a long list of people waiting to get into our Georgia prison system so it takes time. I have heard that as many as 4 - 7 inmates leave our jail a week to PDC / Prison a week. Also PDC centers around the state are pact just call one. Our sheriff has brought inmates back from prison to finish their time in our jail. With the way Camden county is growing you honestly sit there and tell me that the jail in Woodbine is able to function properly for the next ten years. Its falling apart, and as I stated earlier, it is not just the housing area that is in need of a expansion. Why not build a new jail on the old jail site. Build the new pod then slowly work Also as for Jay. The beds were not ordered until after the sheriff said the jail was fine. Yes there were a lot of issues with sites that were brought up. Can you guess who brought them all up.
It is evident that you did not check your records too well! The Current Jail in Woodbine was completed in 1987. So that leaves us to wonder how accurate the rest of your information post on this site.
Thank You I had another typo. Will they ever stop. I intended to say the jail opened in 1986 not 1983. So if you are going to smart off to me about facts...get your straight. From the Sheriff's office web site "The main jail in Woodbine, GA opened in 1986 and houses 123 inmates." Not 1987. I think 87 was the year it snowed here? THANK YOU Mr ANONYMOUS #5
Also the Coffee Correctional Facility is not a central intake facility for inmates. Its not even a state prison. Its owned by CCA. All inmates who are entered into the DOC must go through diagnostics before being placed into a prison facility. The southeast part of the state generally go to Coastal State Prison in Savannah first. So that is why Sheriff Smith hasn't sent these inmates to Nicholls.
Bitchers, all of them.
The jail is falling down around their ears and they're packed in like sardines.
I'm thinking this may be some incentive for not breaking the law.
Why don't you just go ahead and vote to build them some condos on the river right here in St Mary's?
Yea, the Sheriff don't want the taxpayer to pay through the nose for the building of a new jail. It would all be better accepted if the commission were to agree that this is what the community needs. But no, it's always about what Bill needs, well thats not true. It's what the people deserve with the taxes they pay. We sure did'nt need a new County Commisioner Building, but that sure has been hush hush !!!
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