Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jan 2002
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)
Copyright: 2002 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Contact:  http://www.mapinc.org/media/226
Website: http://www.knoxnews.com/
Author: J J Stambaugh, News-Sentinel staff writer

COCKE JAIL HAS SEVERE PROBLEMS, OFFICIALS SAY

NEWPORT, Tenn. - The Cocke County Jail is overcrowded, short on funds and 
riddled with allegations that inmates receive inadequate medical care and 
have easy access to illegal drugs. It has also been decertified by state 
inspectors and has been the target of numerous lawsuits filed by past 
employees and inmates, at least one of which recently led to an 
out-of-court settlement, according to officials and U.S. District Court 
records.

In fact, the problems at the jail were so severe only a month ago that a 
local judge shut down the county's trusty program, which had allowed 
prisoners with good disciplinary records to help operate the facility and 
to work outside the walls.

"In effect, illegal drugs and narcotics have found a safe haven in our 
jail," according to a Dec. 13 opinion issued by Cocke County Circuit Court 
Judge Ben Hooper II.

The opinion also stated that 70 percent of trustys had tested positive for 
marijuana and opiates.

Roy Nixon, executive director of the Tennessee Corrections Institute, said 
Wednesday that the number of trustys testing positive for drugs was "really 
high."

"I would venture to say that not many jails in the state don't have a drug 
problem, but that is extremely high," he said. "That's a security problem 
in the jail."

Nixon's staff is responsible for inspecting each of Tennessee's 95 county 
jails on an annual basis and certifying them if they meet nationally 
recognized standards.

Most jails that fail their inspections suffer from a lack of funding, he said.

"A number of counties have an older jail that can't meet the criteria, and 
there's just nothing they can do about it unless the county fathers build a 
new facility or do drastic renovations," Nixon said.

After last year's inspection, TCI refused to certify Cocke County's jail 
because of overcrowding, a complete lack of medical training for jailers 
and prisoners who lacked "sheets, blankets and undergarments," according to 
Nixon.

The jail has an official capacity of 72 inmates, but on the date of its 
last inspection 90 inmates were housed in the facility. The jail's daily 
average is 110 prisoners, Nixon said.

On the other hand, the jail has a "pretty good" level of staffing, and 
improvements are being made, he said.

"If a jail is decertified, there's nothing in the law that gives us any 
teeth to enforce," Nixon explained. "But a real negative to not being 
certified is lawsuits. If you're trying to deal with an inmate lawsuit and 
you've got a decertified jail, then you've got major problems walking 
through the courtroom door."

Last week, Cocke County settled a federal lawsuit filed by an inmate who 
claimed he suffered permanent damage to his right eye after being 
pepper-sprayed by sheriff's deputies during his arrest on March 6, 1999. 
Chad Edward Smith claimed he was denied proper medical treatment after he 
was booked into the jail. He sued for $400,000 in punitive and compensatory 
damages.

During a pre-trial deposition, Sheriff D.C. Ramsey testified that "he had 
no idea what training the jailers had with respect to giving medical 
attention to inmates of the Cocke County Jail, and further testified he had 
no idea who gave the training regarding medical treatment," court records show.

The case was settled Jan. 24, but details of the settlement were 
unavailable Wednesday because they had not yet been filed in court, 
according to the U.S. District Court clerk's office in Greeneville.

Another lawsuit was filed in 2000 by Robert Sheldon, a former jail 
administrator who claimed Ramsey, Sheriff's Department spokesman Michael 
McCarter and Chief Deputy Pat Taylor had conspired to fire him "without any 
just cause."

In his court filings, Sheldon contended the three defendants wished to fire 
him "based upon their desire to have a less qualified, less experienced and 
less competent individual working as jail administrator."

Sheldon said that unqualified prisoners were allowed to serve as trustys, 
"thus having full access to the entire (jail) and, possibly, introducing 
said contraband including illegal drugs."

Also, he said that a different administrator might have taken steps "to 
prohibit inmates, including said unqualified trustys, from taking a female 
jailer's car keys and going to a local bar in Cocke County while such 
inmates should rightfully be serving their proper criminal sentence."

He also alleged that inmates' files - including medical records - had been 
taken from the jail along with incident reports detailing physical abuse of 
inmates.

Sheldon's lawsuit was dismissed Jan. 11 by U.S. District Judge Thomas Hull, 
who ruled Sheldon was an "exempt, at-will employee" not covered by civil 
service regulations.

Despite repeated attempts to contact them, no Sheriff's Department 
officials could be reached for comment.
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