By Ryan Harris
The Chattanooga Free Press
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Inmate Dewayne Morgan unfurled a trash bag, climbed into a deep ditch on Benton Pike with three other prisoners and began picking up litter Wednesday.
Even with a guard standing by, Mr. Morgan said, “This is a little taste of freedom.”
Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble said he wants more inmates to get that experience outside the jail walls.
The sheriff’s department for several years has allowed inmates to collect litter with the road department through a grant program. But Sheriff Gobble said he wants the department to have several more work crews to provide labor for nonprofit organizations, churches and schools.
“It’s good for the community and it’s good for the inmates,” Sheriff Gobble said. “And it doesn’t cost us anything because we would be watching them anyway.”
Inmates workers earn two days off their sentence for each day of work, Sheriff Gobble said. Only nonviolent offenders are considered for work detail, he said.
Sheriff Gobble said there are inmates with carpentry, electrical and masonry experience.
“Some of them channeled their talents in the wrong direction, and this can funnel those talents back into something positive,” the sheriff said. “It may even lead to less recidivism.”
Many counties and the state use inmates for community projects.
Prisoners at the Southeast Tennessee State Regional Correction Facility in Pikeville, Tenn., have built fire halls, school concession stands and church additions, said inmate jobs coordinator Jerry Haston.
Mr. Haston said prisoners can earn up to 16 days off their sentence each month for exemplary work. All of the work is done free of charge, except for materials, he said.
“These rural, local schools don’t have the budgets like big cities,” Mr. Haston said. “It makes things like concession stands and painting playgrounds possible.”
The Mid-East Tennessee Regional Fair in Athens, Tenn., uses inmates to set up tents and collect trash, fair manager Kim Womac said. She said the fair pays a guard $10 an hour to supervise the workers, but that it is much less expensive than paying for labor.
“They help us do all the heavy labor aspects of the fair,” Mrs. Womac said. “We couldn’t do it without them.”
Copyright 2007 Chattanooga Free Press