Sunday, May 25, 2008
We do not agree either that Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy should work for free or that this group is somehow connected with the Christan Exodus Movement. We do agree, however, that it is well past time for the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office to transfer these duties to someone other than Mr. Shackelford and Mr. Weeks.
Our position on the "Prisoner Recreation Funds" has been discussed many times on this Blog. For example, in "HOW ARE THOSE "JAIL FUNDS" BEING USED AGAIN?" we wrote:
On June 15, 2002, after Dorchester County Council seized control of the Federal Prisoner Housing Fund, Sheriff Nash stated that the "Prisoner Recreation Fund" that was being generated from prisoner telephone toll calls was being used to pay "Chaplains" Weeks and Don Shackelford a total of $14,400 per year (12 x 2 x $600).
At the risk of both repeating ourselves and offending some Nash supporters, we note that, by his own admission, Sheriff Nash does not know how much money the Prisoner Recreation Fund generates, how it is being used, how much has been spent, how much has been embezzled, or even whether some of the charges being imposed are lawful. More important, from our standpoint, there is simply no way that an intelligent and rationale person can argue that Sheriff Nash is using these funds for the "benefit" of the prisoners. Therefore, we reiterate that we think an Independent Board should be created to oversee this program. Additionally, we think that this Independent Board should include Dorchester County Jail Inmates; after all, if the fund is for their benefit, they should have some input into the determination of what most benefits them.
