In Florida - to get in the Deep South - you go north. There is a trial going on here accusing the sheriff of releasing inmates to have conjugal visits in motel rooms - men that are supposed to be held without bail. The sheriff claims it is a long held tradition. But the best line is the last line of the story - scroll down -
From the Tallahassee Democrat -
Young case wraps without ruling
Judge’s ruling in Gadsden County sheriff ’s case expected within two weeks
Karl Etters
Two days of trial in the case against Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young wrapped up on Tuesday.
Ajudge is expected to rule within two weeks whether Young is in contempt of court for allowing inmates at the county jail, including dangerous felons, to be released on hours-long furloughs without judicial authorization.
State Attorney Willie Meggs over two days presented incident after incident trying to show that Young continually ignored court orders by temporarily releasing inmates. Meggs has tried to show Young is in contempt of court since last September when he filed a petition that detailed two dozen cases in which inmates, who had sometimes been sentenced to the Department of Corrections, were allowed out of the jail to visit family gatherings and hotel rooms to meet women, sometimes unsupervised.
Young’s attorney, Eric Abrahamsen, tried to establish that there was a longstanding practice of furloughs in Gadsden County and across the state.
On Tuesday, Liberty County Sheriff Nick Finch, former Monroe County Sheriff Allison DeFoor, 2nd Circuit Judge Barbara Hobbs and 2nd Circuit Public Defender Nancy Daniels testified about furlough programs.
Finch, who in 2013 was prosecuted by Meggs on charges of official misconduct and falsifying records after he intervened in the arrest of a Bristol man caught with a concealed firearm, said furloughs were common in his department until an October court order halting them.
DeFoor, who has served as Monroe County Sheriff, an attorney and a judge, said he too would furlough inmates, but mainly non-violent offenders facing misdemeanor charges.
“This was a culture of furloughs in Gadsden county for 32 years and a culture of furloughs in other counties,” Abrahamsen said. “Everybody believed they had that authority to do this, even witnesses who have been sheriff’s, judges and lawyers unsure of how furloughs work. There couldn’t be better case against it.”
Young has never denied the furlough program and has defended the 32-year practice, which also happened under late Gadsden Sheriff W.A. Woodham. Furloughs are a way to limit chronic jail over-crowding. Young, sheriff since 2004, maintains he did not directly violate any court order and has dismissed Meggs’ accusations as politically and racially motivated.
He appeared in his sheriff’s uniform — sitting in the middle of his legal team — but did not testify during the two-day trial.
On Tuesday, Meggs continued to present the charges and criminal backgrounds of inmates he says were granted illegal furloughs by the GCSO.
Meggs questioned correctional officers about the bond conditions on which inmates were allowed out of the jail and the individual cases.
“It strains credulity for the sheriff not to understand what no bond means,” Meggs said in court. “He knows their status before he releases somebody. He should know that a court has said no bond: Do not release.
“There are orders that are significantly clear and the sheriff did not follow court orders.”
Officers described how Young would meet with inmates in the jail’s recreation yard on Wednesdays, when furloughs would often come up, but were never granted there.
Scrutiny of the jail’s furlough practice began last July, when a local newspaper, the Havana Herald, reported on a man who attacked his wife — choking and threatening to kill her with a wrench — while he was out on furlough. The inmate, Stanley Hall, had been jailed for failing to pay child support.
In previous reports by the Havana Herald, Young said only non-violent “trustee” inmates, but Meggs’ investigation found that has not been the case. The court filing also disputed Young’s contention that the practice helps with jail overcrowding. In several instances, the petition noted inmates on furlough came back to jail with contraband, resulting in more charges and jail time.
During her testimony, Public Defender Daniels presented a furlough policy developed in Leon County 10 years ago that was adapted for Gadsden County on Tuesday.
What is at issue is this case, Meggs said, is Young’s prior conduct, not how to address furloughs moving forward.
Prosecutors have filed an order barring imprisonment, but if he is found guilty, Young could face a fine. His attorneys say a criminal conviction could open the door for the governor to remove him from office.
Retired 3rd Circuit Senior Judge Julian E. Collins, who presided over the bench trial, could make a ruling as soon as next week, but said he would not rush to a snap judgment.
“What we have here to some extent,” Collins said, “is a failure to communicate.”
On Tuesday, Liberty County Sheriff Nick Finch, former Monroe County Sheriff Allison DeFoor, 2nd Circuit Judge Barbara Hobbs and 2nd Circuit Public Defender Nancy Daniels testified about furlough programs.
Finch, who in 2013 was prosecuted by Meggs on charges of official misconduct and falsifying records after he intervened in the arrest of a Bristol man caught with a concealed firearm, said furloughs were common in his department until an October court order halting them.
DeFoor, who has served as Monroe County Sheriff, an attorney and a judge, said he too would furlough inmates, but mainly non-violent offenders facing misdemeanor charges.
“This was a culture of furloughs in Gadsden county for 32 years and a culture of furloughs in other counties,” Abrahamsen said. “Everybody believed they had that authority to do this, even witnesses who have been sheriff’s, judges and lawyers unsure of how furloughs work. There couldn’t be better case against it.”
Young has never denied the furlough program and has defended the 32-year practice, which also happened under late Gadsden Sheriff W.A. Woodham. Furloughs are a way to limit chronic jail over-crowding. Young, sheriff since 2004, maintains he did not directly violate any court order and has dismissed Meggs’ accusations as politically and racially motivated.
He appeared in his sheriff’s uniform — sitting in the middle of his legal team — but did not testify during the two-day trial.
On Tuesday, Meggs continued to present the charges and criminal backgrounds of inmates he says were granted illegal furloughs by the GCSO.
Meggs questioned correctional officers about the bond conditions on which inmates were allowed out of the jail and the individual cases.
“It strains credulity for the sheriff not to understand what no bond means,” Meggs said in court. “He knows their status before he releases somebody. He should know that a court has said no bond: Do not release.
“There are orders that are significantly clear and the sheriff did not follow court orders.”
Officers described how Young would meet with inmates in the jail’s recreation yard on Wednesdays, when furloughs would often come up, but were never granted there.
Scrutiny of the jail’s furlough practice began last July, when a local newspaper, the Havana Herald, reported on a man who attacked his wife — choking and threatening to kill her with a wrench — while he was out on furlough. The inmate, Stanley Hall, had been jailed for failing to pay child support.
In previous reports by the Havana Herald, Young said only non-violent “trustee” inmates, but Meggs’ investigation found that has not been the case. The court filing also disputed Young’s contention that the practice helps with jail overcrowding. In several instances, the petition noted inmates on furlough came back to jail with contraband, resulting in more charges and jail time.
During her testimony, Public Defender Daniels presented a furlough policy developed in Leon County 10 years ago that was adapted for Gadsden County on Tuesday.
What is at issue is this case, Meggs said, is Young’s prior conduct, not how to address furloughs moving forward.
Prosecutors have filed an order barring imprisonment, but if he is found guilty, Young could face a fine. His attorneys say a criminal conviction could open the door for the governor to remove him from office.
Retired 3rd Circuit Senior Judge Julian E. Collins, who presided over the bench trial, could make a ruling as soon as next week, but said he would not rush to a snap judgment.
“What we have here to some extent,” Collins said, “is a failure to communicate.”
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