Gang of Four trying to use Judge Sermons to rawhide a new jail | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    At the February 3, 2014 Board of Commissioners' meeting Hood Richardson offered a motion to petition Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons to dissolve the current order related to the jail. That order was issued after the jail had to be evacuated because of a faulty electrical system. The system has now been fixed. But the Gang of Four voted 3-4 against the motion anyway.

    You can watch the action in the two minute video clip below. The vote was taken without discussion or debate.



    In an interview with the Observer Richardson reiterated what he said when making the motion...that recent repairs and renovations have brought the jail into compliance with state standards, as witnessed by inspection reports from the Department Health and Human Services. "The jail meets state standards. We have complied with the judge's order. It should now be dissolved."

    Richardson went on to say that the argument that Al Klemm is using that the jail does not meet the new construction standards is a specious argument. "Very few if any county buildings more than a few years old meet new construction standards. I would dare say that no school in the county meets new construction standards. So are we going to bring all of those buildings up to current new construction standards. For that matter, few homes in the county more than a few years old meet the current building codes. It is nonsense to say that the jail should be brought to new standards," he said.

    When asked about the discussion that took place later in the meeting about the whether the jail is in fact safe Richardson said: "you can use the same argument that there is a fire hazard in every building the county owns. So are you going to replace them because we may have a fire? Certainly not. But if Mr. Langley and Klemm think the fire safety equipment in the courthouse is inadequate I can assure them that a new alarm system could be installed for a lot less than a new jail would cost. I find it very interesting that they are now expressing concern about a fire in the jail. We've just had one and the facility was evacuated twice. Yet these same commissioners voted against exercising oversight of the Sheriff's Department. It would seem that if they were concerned about safety they would want to monitor how the jail is operated. Someone should ask the chairman and vice chairman when the last time there was a fire drill in the jail."

    With regard to Sermons order there have also been questions raised about whether he has the authority to order a new jail being built. A source with the School of Government who did not want to be identified told us off the record that she did not believe a Superior Court judge can order a specific remediation to an unsafe condition. "He can order that the jail not be used if it is found to be unsafe, but the determination of how to correct that situation is a legislative decision, not a judicial prerogative."

    But actually whether Sermons has the authority to rawhide the construction of a new jail is not the issue. The Gang of Four, as evidenced by this vote, is simply using Sermons as an excuse to do what they already decided before the jail evacuations  -  they are determined to build a new jail regardless of the facts.