COUNTY JAIL CAN'T STOP DRUG ABUSE

Some inmates sentenced to jail for drug problems in Barbour County aren't
exactly escaping their addictions. At least that's what the latest round of
drug tests at the county jail in Clayton shows.

Seven of 23 inmates in the county work release program tested positive for
drugs while in jail over the weekend, Sheriff Marshall Williams Jr.
confirmed Monday. All seven were removed from the work release program and
will face hard time in prison.

The drug searches apparently resulted from concerned relatives of inmates
serving time in the county jail. The most recent drug tests were ordered
after a family member complained that inmates were smoking crack-in the
jail cell.

"He said, you're not going to believe this, but they are smoking crack
right there in the jail cell," the relative said.

One inmate who has served several months reportedly said it's not a new
problem.

"He said it's been like that the whole time," the inmates' relative told
The Tribune. "They're bringing drugs into the jail and passing them around."

Sheriff Williams says drug testing of inmates, especially those on work
release, isn't a new problem.

"We drug test all the time," Williams said. "This is nothing unusual. I
don't have anything to hide. We try to do what's right and help people, but
some people just can't be helped. If they test positive, they are going to
prison."

Williams wonders if tips to the local media on the weekend drug tests were
politically motivated. He faces opposition in November in the sheriff's race.

"Some of this could be election-year politics," Williams said.

The sheriff also said family members of some of the inmates sent to prison
for testing positive were also simply angry with his tough response.

"I told them I didn't care what hurt me politically," Williams said. "I'm
not going to be intimidated by votes. I'm just doing my job."

The sheriff said he tests inmates about once a month at the jail. Each test
costs the cash-strapped county $25.

"If they test positive, they are going to be locked down," Williams said.
"They are going to face the consequences."

All jails face a never-ending battle to keep drugs out of the cells, the
sheriff added.

"I assure you there is not a detention center anywhere that is drug-free,"
Williams said. "You've got more of a chance for this to happen when you
have people working."

Despite past work release escapes and the apparent drug problem, the
program has been successful, Williams said.

"How can a man pay the child support he owes if he's in jail?" Williams
said in an earlier interview. "This program certainly helps them."

Inmates who participate only keep 35 percent of their wages. Forty percent
goes toward restitution, such as child support or fines owed the county.
Twenty-five percent of the wages goes back into the program, which is run
by the sheriff's department. Funds raised since its inception have paid for
new mattresses and uniforms at the Barbour County Jail near Clayton and a
van to transport inmates to and from job sites.

"If we didn't have this program, those expenses would come out of my
budget," Williams said earlier.