Friday, February 08, 2008

Not the preferred solution to jail overcrowding

The Jim Hogg County Jail in Hebronville has room for 18 people in it, though there were only 10 as of January 1, 2008. One of them, though, was 24-year old convicted rapist Abel Morin, who escaped out an unlocked door while being transferred between cells less than 24 hours after he was sentenced to life in prison.

Bizarrely, Morin was convicted in Duval County, but had been moved to Jim Hogg County because he complained about the food! Doesn't everybody complain about jail food? There are literally no incorporated towns in Jim Hogg County, including the county seat! So the Sheriff's Department is it as far as law enforcement goes. But even if your jail's the size of the one in Andy Griffith's Mayberry, there's a minimum level of professionalism required if you want to actually operate a law enforcement agency. In this case, apparently one lone jailer was on guard, and watched helplessly as the unshackled convict ran out the door. This is NOT the preferred solution to jail overcrowding.

3 comments:

John D. McLauchlan said...

I don't know...Mayberry may have been a larger community. The entire county only has a bit less than 5300 folks.

JT Barrie said...

Mayberry is NOT a mainstream town in the USA. After all: Andy once told Opie that it was wrong to listen in on criminals without a warrant - and true patriots know that this attitude only coddles criminals. Barney would have talked this SKP to death - or the SKP might have choked hisself with laughter at Barney's antics.

Gritsforbreakfast said...

This is more like "May-Barrio." I've spent time doing research in both county courthouses, actually, and that area's probably 90+ Latino.

Mayberry was much bigger than Hebronville. They had elections in Mayberry (remember Aunt Bee ran), while Hebronville is an unincorporated wide spot in the road that probably wouldn't exist without county government.