Thursday, May 05, 2005
EFFICIENCY IN INMATE PROCESSING--A NEW MODEL
The details are a little sketchy, but THE STATE reported that longtime Solicitor Donnie Meyers was recently arrested in Asheville, North Carolina and charged "with impaired driving and transporting an open container of alcohol." At the time of the arrest he was operating his county-issued car.
The details of the charges are not particularly interesting to us, because Mr. Meyers may well be innocent of those charges. What is somewhat interesting to us is that he failed to report the arrest to county officials because he didn't "think it was any of their business," and that while he admitted he had an open can of Budweiser beer in his Lincoln when he was stopped, he said "it wasn't his drink and didn't know who put it there." What is very interesting to us are the details of Mr. Myers processing and release.
According to THE STATE after he was stopped and failed a portable Breathalyzer test, but before being transferred to the police station, Mr. Meyers was able to telephone a "good friend of [his]" to meet him at the station. "He declined to name the friend, whom he identified only as a public official."
At the police station Mr. Meyers was administered another Breathalyzer test that he also failed. He was then, arrested, photographed, and afforded a hearing before a Magistrate. He was released upon a "written promise" to return for his court hearing. Meyers' friend then drove him back to his hotel.
We know a number of people who have been arrested in and sent to jail for alleged infractions of family court orders. But, we have never heard of anyone of them being allowed to telephone a court official to meet them at the jail before the transport. And getting processed through Charleston County Jail can take over 30 hours and involves much more than a promise to return at some future date. So it seems to us that either Solicitor Myers requested and received special treatment--for which he should be sanctioned--or that Buncombe County, NC has enacted an efficient and cost-saving prisoner processing system that could serve as model for all the counties in South Carolina, including Charleston
The details are a little sketchy, but THE STATE reported that longtime Solicitor Donnie Meyers was recently arrested in Asheville, North Carolina and charged "with impaired driving and transporting an open container of alcohol." At the time of the arrest he was operating his county-issued car.
The details of the charges are not particularly interesting to us, because Mr. Meyers may well be innocent of those charges. What is somewhat interesting to us is that he failed to report the arrest to county officials because he didn't "think it was any of their business," and that while he admitted he had an open can of Budweiser beer in his Lincoln when he was stopped, he said "it wasn't his drink and didn't know who put it there." What is very interesting to us are the details of Mr. Myers processing and release.
According to THE STATE after he was stopped and failed a portable Breathalyzer test, but before being transferred to the police station, Mr. Meyers was able to telephone a "good friend of [his]" to meet him at the station. "He declined to name the friend, whom he identified only as a public official."
At the police station Mr. Meyers was administered another Breathalyzer test that he also failed. He was then, arrested, photographed, and afforded a hearing before a Magistrate. He was released upon a "written promise" to return for his court hearing. Meyers' friend then drove him back to his hotel.
We know a number of people who have been arrested in and sent to jail for alleged infractions of family court orders. But, we have never heard of anyone of them being allowed to telephone a court official to meet them at the jail before the transport. And getting processed through Charleston County Jail can take over 30 hours and involves much more than a promise to return at some future date. So it seems to us that either Solicitor Myers requested and received special treatment--for which he should be sanctioned--or that Buncombe County, NC has enacted an efficient and cost-saving prisoner processing system that could serve as model for all the counties in South Carolina, including Charleston
