The Ugly, Ugly Truth About the Beaufort County Jail | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Washington, NC is the same as Washington, DC when it comes to making bad decisions, dirty dealing and subverting the State and Federal Constitutions.

    The single biggest problem is the misinformation, deceit, and just plain lies being told by those who support a new jail. Yes, dear reader, part of us are lying and part of us are telling the truth. Fortunately we have a democratic republic form of government and you get to decide who you want to believe. In many countries, citizens do not get to evaluate and criticize what the government tells them.

    The false court order. Judge Wayland Sermons practices creative law. He, being a Democrat joined with the Democrat Chairman of the the Beaufort County Commissioners, Jerry Langley, with support from Democrat Ed Both, Democrat Robert Belcher and the high exhaulted RINO (Republican In Name Only) Al Klemm to fashion an illegal court order that appears to force Beaufort County to build a new jail. Sermons is working hard to do what true conservatives dislike most. Use the judicial bench to make new law and make a name for himself among liberals.

    The simple truth is the general statutes provide that the local Superior Court Judge can order the County to provide a safe and secure jail according to standards set by the Legislature. There have been lawsuits in which the Court of Appeals decided the commissioners could provide the facilities in any manner they desired so long as the standards were met. We can even house all of our inmates in other counties.

    Here is where corrupt practices come into play. The Beaufort County Commissioners did in fact bring the jail up to state standards and we have letters of inspection to prove it. We have satisfied Judge Sermons Court Order. Sermons, had he been following the law, should have released Beaufort County from the order without us having to ask. Sermons has been notified in writing that the county is in compliance with the order.

    Now we come to the disgusting part about public officials. Judge Sermons will not take it up on himself to do his sworn duty and release the jail order. It gets worse. The Gang of Four (Langley, Booth, Belcher and Klemm) have voted four times not to request a release. These four Commissioners are violating their fiduciary responsibility to both their office and the citizens of Beaufort County. Their fiduciary responsibility is their duty to protect Beaufort County citizens and their money.

Beaufort County Commissioner Hood Richardson making himself perfectly clear: Above.     photo by Stan Deatherage
    Here are more facts. The jail is not over crowded. We have between 65 and 88 prisoners most days. We average about 12 prisoners held out of county each day. Some of these are for safe keeping and would be out of the County even with a new jail. Statements made by Al Klemm that we have 20 to 25 prisoners out of the county are false. The Gang of Four is building a jail that will ultimately hold 350 people. Why? In addition, magistrates offices, deputies offices, a court room, along with other possible services are to be provided.

    Look at the costs. I am using numbers developed by the Jail Committee. The Gang of Four claim these numbers are not correct but they are their numbers. When people start spreading false information there is no limit as to how far they will go. The new jail will cost an additional four million dollars per year to operate. That is a 15 percent tax increase. We are currently spending about four hundred thousand dollars per year to house prisoners out of county. That is a three million six hundred thousand dollar saving. I agree, either me or the Gang of Four are lying. There is no need to house prisoners out of the county if the District Attorney, Seth Edwards, will simply try the cases instead of keeping inmates until he gets a plea bargain.

    Do not believe all that junk about not moving the county seat of government to the far southwest corner of Beaufort County. I was present my self and personally heard Jerry Langley say at the very first Jail Committee meeting "We need to find a place large enough to move the court house so it can be close to the jail". He went on to say the court house is "antiquated". That was his opening statement, how could he have known we even needed a new jail?

    The public should be concerned when commissioners are willing to raise between twenty and thirty million dollars in taxes to build an unusually large jail, but are not willing to support a hospital with a two million dollar secured loan. Even more puzzling is the area served by the hospital is majority black. The majority of prisoners in the jail are black. Black commissioners have voted to provide more lock up and less medical care for other blacks. There is concern within the black community about the disproportionate number of blacks is prisons. Go figure on that one.

    The Gang of Four is in a panic to get enough done on the jail before the fall elections so the project will have to be completed regardless of who wins the election. To that end they have already spent two million dollars for an architect. That two million dollars is gone. They plan to enter into a construction contract as early as September.

    There is no question the board of commissioners that takes office in December of 2014 will have to reevaluate this situation. The reasoning will go like this. We can save 3.6 million dollars per year by not building a jail. I estimate we will have about 7.0 million dollars spent by December of 2014. If we stop the project we will get our money back in two years. If we do not stop the project we will pay an additional four million dollars per year for ever. Ugly, Ugly, Ugly and a very tough decision to make. These guys are building a monument to bad government.

    Many of us have puzzled over the reasons for this exercise in bad judgement and government. None of the Gang of Four have given any reason to build a new jail. They have stated they will not put the issue to a public referendum simply because it would fail. That failure should be their first clue that they are kissing the wrong end of the horse.

    I am not usually a proponent of a lot of these sinister ideas that there are secret groups who are in control of government and commerce. I am beginning to come around on this one. With all we have heard about homeland security, could it be that a jail complex with 20 acres of high fence would make a concentration camp. Don't forget, it is the Democrats and RINO's who have made Homeland Security what it is today. A lot of Germans thought Hitler was going to bake bread it those ovens. Could it happen here?

    There is a movement to stop the jail construction in the courts. They have raised several thousand dollars. The committee needs more money to make something happen. A law firm to do the suit has been obtained. Businesses may donate to this legal fund. Consider a 15 percent increase in your taxes and decide how much you can donate either personally or from your business. An injunction is the best way to avoid a tax increase. The sooner the money is raised the better. Mail your donation to: Stop the Jail, 2013, West 15th Street, Washington, NC, call Buzz Cayton at 975-3442 or Harold Smith at 945-8719.

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