Ohio jail makes inmates ‘Pay to Stay’ locked up

The program, “Pay as you stay,” provides convicted inmates with an invoice upon release

March 21, 2011 06:01 AM

MONROE COUNTY, Ohio -- A county jail in Ohio operates like a hotel by charging inmates to stay there.

“We started this program approximately a month ago,” said Monroe County, OH, Sheriff Charles Black. “To date, we’ve drawn in about $2,050.”

The program, “Pay as you stay,” provides convicted inmates with an invoice upon release.

“Just starting it, I don’t know what the projected figures are going to be for a year,” Black said. “But any little bit that comes back in, anything that offsets the cost to the taxpayers, I think, will be beneficial.”