
Alabama Sheriff Legally Took $750,000 Meant To Feed Inmates - gscott
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/14/593204274/alabama-sheriff-legally-took-750-000-meant-to-feed-inmates-bought-beach-house
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aje403
"Sheets' investigation has also made headlines because of the arrest of a key
source. Sheets spoke with a landscaper named Matt Qualls who mowed Entrekin's
lawn in 2015 and noticed the name of the account on his checks — the "Sheriff
Todd Entrekin Food Provision Account." He shared pictures with Sheets."
"Sheets' initial story was published on Feb. 18. On Feb. 22, Qualls was
arrested and charged with drug trafficking after an anonymous call complained
of the smell of marijuana from an apartment.

Qualls, who had never been arrested before, faces six charges and is being
held on a $55,000 bond, Sheets reports. He is detained in a jail that Entrekin
oversees."

Can we do a cost benefit analysis on Alabama and see if we are in any from
profiting from preventing them from seceding?

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sremani
Its very close to port of New Orleans which is the only place in South the
British attacked in 1812 war and its capture by Union forces in early half of
civil war was pivotal for the outcome of that war. For strategic reasons its
absolutely necessary for US to have complete control of Mississippi river
system including the mouth of the river.

It would be a strategic blunder to let Alabama secede, also as much as HN
loves to hate the south, Alabama has over 33% African American population,
that has to be kept in mind.

The world is not static, before jerking off and spewing words like secession a
deep breath and a mindful analysis helps.

~~~
Mononokay
> It would be a strategic blunder to let Alabama secede, also as much as HN
> loves to hate the south, Alabama has over 33% African American population,
> that has to be kept in mind.

Did anyone bring up race here? I don't see how a comment about race is
relevant towards discussion of corrupt government.

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ransom1538
Remember: county jail holds people waiting to go to trial. Many of these
people _have not been convicted_. Often these inmates are coerced by their
appointed attorney (who is swamped) to waive their right for a speedy trial.
Torturing prisoners in the US is bad, but torturing the untried is truly evil.

~~~
actionscripted
> ...inmates are coerced by their appointed attorney (who is swamped) to waive
> their right for a speedy trial.

Oftentimes in the US it is less about a busy defense attourney and more about
the prosecution offering a plea deal to skip trial. I can't say with any
certainty why this is done but I believe it's due to overcrowding in courts
and jails.

Many attourneys will suggest the defendant accept the plea deal because it's a
sure thing. It's a lighter sentence than if the defendant went to court and
when a case goes to court -- especially a jury trial -- it is impossible to
say how it will turn out and it could end up far worse for the defendant when
compared to the plea deal.

~~~
alistairSH
It's also about the DA padding her own stats. Charge the defendant with every
felony that even closely fits the alleged crime, then allow them to plea down
to a misdemeanor. DA gets a conviction, court docket is smaller, and the
alleged criminal "gets off easy".

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dpratt71
There is no mention of starvation in the title of the article nor in the text.
I'm not sure why it's in the title of the submission. There is a link to a
related article "2009: Ala. Sheriff Jailed For Starving Inmates". I assume
it's the same article referenced in this article:

"In 2009, then-Sheriff Greg Bartlett of Morgan County was briefly tossed in
jail after acknowledging that he had personally profited, to the tune of
$212,000, from a surplus in the jail-food account. Prisoners testified about
receiving meager meals."

Still, I don't see the justification for the use of the word "starvation" in
that context, either.

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ransom1538
"Starving" probably not. Using expired food, creating gruels, making the
inmates sick, forcing inmates to steal food with violence -- is a bit more
accurate title. Here is an example Arizona sheriff laughing as he makes
inmates rotten food [1]. I would suspect many inmates do begin the starvation
process and become violently ill. (NOTE: many of these inmates have not been
convicted of a crime, this is county jail).

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGLDnRX10gA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGLDnRX10gA)

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tyingq
Prisons in Texas, right now, move to 2 meals a day on weekends. As far as I
know, the money saved isn't pocketed by anyone personally, but it is
happening.

Inmates that have some support system supplement with commissary purchases.

So it's a transfer of what should be government spending to spending by inmate
families. The benefit seems to flow to the companies that run the commissary
programs.

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gscott
I know one person who went to prison here in San Diego and with extra money he
can buy a better food like a breakfast burrito in the morning rather than
eating the standard breakfast.

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tyingq
That's how, in my mind, the commissary should work. At least in Texas, that's
not what actually happens. They will, for example, withhold soap, toothpaste,
and toilet paper. Ask yourself why these items are even offered in the
commissary. Why would you need "extra"?

~~~
gscott
The inmates even have to pay for their shoes. It is to force them to labor for
few cents on the dollar.

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ajnin
The law says he must "keep and retain" any funds not used to feed inmates.
Well he didn't keep nor retain it, he spent it to buy a house. How is this
considered "following the letter of the law" ?

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IAmEveryone
“Retain” is probably best interpreted as “not give back”. The law is shoddily
drafted, considering “keep” and “retain” are usually synonymous.

~~~
dpark
> _The law is shoddily drafted, considering “keep” and “retain” are usually
> synonymous._

It's a doublet. These are in general very common in laws, though this
particular one doesn't appear to be.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_doublet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_doublet)

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alsetmusic
He claims to follow the “letter or the law.” There are many actions within the
law that are nevertheless unethical and wrong.

~~~
proactivesvcs
It's shameful to see those responsible for upholding the law not acting in the
spirit of the law, when it applies.

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leesalminen
The criminal justice system in this country is broken. I’ve long wondered what
I can do to improve it but haven’t figured it out yet.

The most common advice I’ve received is to go pass the bar or become a cop. I
know “good” people who did this...I no longer consider them good people. The
system got to them.

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Voyage_wanderer
In other countries it called corruption. Not in US, because it is legal, what
don’t you understand?

~~~
stephengillie
Smart criminals don't commit crimes; they change laws to make their goals
legal and simply act freely.

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meri_dian
> "A couple people I knew came through the jail, and they say they got meat
> maybe once a month, and every other day, it was just beans and vegetables,"
> Qualls told Sheets. "I put two and two together and realized that that money
> could have gone toward some meat or something."

That's hardly "starving".

This article title is sensational and should be changed. It serves no one to
misrepresent the truth, especially in a world dominated by hyperbole and
sensationalism.

Edit: Those downvoting me, what about my statement do you disagree with?

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mortenjorck
If the outrage over this law is perennial, why on earth hasn’t it become a
campaign issue for Alabama state legislature candidates?

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pjc50
It's Alabama. A majority of the voters are probably in favour of even more
brutal and degrading treatment of inmates.

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avs733
because they systematically oppress those who have or are likely to suffer
from this type of treatment,

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laythea
I am absolutely shocked that this is actually still in a law. How backwards
for a place to be.

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LinuxBender
Are there any historical lessons to be learned from others that have done this
in the past? Is that Sheriff putting the lives of other corrections officers
and jail staff at risk?

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crispyporkbites
> "Sheriffs across the state take excess money as personal income — and, in
> the event of a shortfall, are personally liable for covering the gap."

Does that ever happen? What could cause it to happen? Could the state not just
say, "we're reducing your budget by 750k this year, make up the shortfall Mr
Sheriff." and he'll have to cough up?

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crispyporkbites
ok, this is a little more complex:

When Entrekin's predecessor died while still in office, all the money in the
food provision account went to his estate — as state law dictated, a county
official told NPR. Entrekin had to borrow $150,000 to keep the inmates fed. He
was paying down that debt for years, The Gadsden Times reported.

In 2009, while he was still in debt from paying for inmates' food, Entrekin
told the Times that he personally thought the law needed to be changed. But he
noted that it might cost more money for taxpayers if the county commission had
to manage jail kitchens through an open bid process.

David Akins, the chief administrative officer of the Etowah County Commission,
agrees with that assessment. He says the commission is not eager to take on
that duty, as some other local governments have done.

"The sheriff can feed inmates cheaper than the county can," he said.

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maxerickson
Giving the sheriff the opportunity to personally profit from providing meals
may well create lots of incentive for efficiency, but where's the check that
makes sure the food is adequate?.

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peterwwillis
Let me guess. This article doesn't count as politics, either.

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jerf
It certainly doesn't seem to have any particular HN merit beyond pointing and
shrieking at somebody else's problems, no, and it's producing comments that I
would consider to either be shading on racism or crossing the line. I've
flagged it; feel free to join me.

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Shivetya
People need to understand the same or similar occur in many localities across
the US; I would suspect other countries might have related issues. it is also
not confined to law enforcement but many in local and state government have
similar setups

throw in pension abuse and you would be amazed at the dollars lost to all of
this, dollars easily better used for other purposes

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IAmEveryone
If you insist on calling everyone corrupt, you remove all incentives not to be
corrupt: after all, why bother if you red-faced constituents will scream
invectives at you anyway?

By and large, a tiny fraction of civil servants steal from official accounts.
This case is a strange consequence of the rather peculiar legal standing of
the sheriff’s office, in one particularly backward US state.

