BOC hears jail inmate report | Eastern North Carolina Now

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

Why would Democrats not want to know how to reduce the jail census?

    The hottest issue in Beaufort County government these days is the jail. We're being told the jail is not adequate and is unsafe. For several months now, Commissioner Hood Richardson has been asking the Sheriff's Office to provide the board with a monthly jail report, which supposedly tells how many prisoners are being housed in the jail, the category of those prisoners (ex. felons, male/female etc.) and the length they have been in jail. The video below is a review and discussion of this past month's report.

    You will note in the video that Mr. Richardson asked to have the District Attorney Seth Edwards meet with the board to explain why several inmates have been locked up for over six months without a trial. The board voted 4-3 to ask the DA to meet with them to discuss this issue. Note that the three who voted not to discuss this with the DA are all Democrats. Edwards is a Democrat. It should be understood that in North Carolina, in general inmates are housed in the county jail until they are tried. If they are convicted they are then transferred to the state Department of Corrections. So the sooner the trial is held the less load is put on the jail.

    Here's the segment of the meeting dealing with the monthly Jail Report:



    Note: In a brief interview after the meeting Mr. Richardson was asked whether he is contending that the current jail is adequate. He responded: "Certainly not. But the number of inmates we have is important in determining the capacity that a new jail would need to have. If the average number of inmates is lower we don't need as large a jail. If the case flow in the jail is managed poorly it will cost the taxpayers much more money. Shortening the stay of inmates is one way to manage the case flow. But above all that, everybody is entitled to a speedy trial. I'd like to hear why the DA can't try every case within six months."