COCKE INMATES RELEASED TO TRY FOR BOXING PRIZE

NEWPORT - A weekend boxing contest led to bruises, aches and controversy
after deputies freed several Cocke County Jail inmates from their cells to
fight for the chance at a $1,000 cash prize. Chief Deputy Pat Taylor of the
Cocke County Sheriff's Department said he organized the weekend outings to
reward inmates who passed random drug tests.

"I figured I was helping the county by rehabilitating them ... rewarding
them for good behavior," Taylor said. "If they passed their drug test, I
was going to reward them."

But more importantly, he added, the prisoners were only allowed to don
their boxing gloves with the approval of Cocke County Circuit Court Judge
Ben Hooper II.

"I don't do anything without someone saying so," Taylor explained.

The outings came only a month after Hooper handed down a court order that
effectively ended the jail's trusty program. Trustys had previously been
allowed to work outside the jail on a variety of county projects, but
concerns over drug and alcohol use as well as reports of drugs being
smuggled into the jail led Hooper to halt the program in a Dec. 13 ruling.

Taylor's interview with the News-Sentinel took place Tuesday afternoon
under the supervision of County Attorney Fletcher Ervin.

When asked to provide documentation or a court order confirming Hooper's
approval of the weekend outings, Taylor and Ervin said they were unable to
provide written verification.

Hooper couldn't be reached for comment despite repeated phone calls to his
office.

According to officials, the four inmates - including at least one convicted
felon - were transported from the jail to the National Guard Armory in
Newport to participate in boxing matches sponsored by King of the Hill
Fights, a Tellico Plains-based company, on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Taylor said Tuesday that he single-handedly drove the four inmates to the
competition in a county police cruiser while off-duty.

Taylor said he didn't recall the names of the inmates.

He also said that no other deputies were assigned to directly guard the
prisoners and added that the county incurred no expense.

"I escorted them out there and back to the jail," Taylor said. "Is there
anything wrong with that?"

According to Taylor, the inmates were required to sign liability waivers
from the boxing promoter as well as waivers from the county.

However, neither Taylor nor Ervin could explain specifically what the
county's waivers covered.

Copies of the county waivers, inmate records and transportation records
from the jail were not immediately available for public inspection,
according to Taylor.

The chief deputy referred all requests for documentation to Michael
McCarter, the agency's spokesman, who was unavailable for comment.

One of the prisoners reportedly taken to the exhibition was 26-year-old
Shawn Meeks, a past winner of various "Toughman" competitions and a felon
with a past history of violent crimes.

Last year, Meeks pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, robbery, vandalism,
possession of marijuana, reckless driving and resisting arrest. Judge
Hooper sentenced him to spend 12 months of a four-year sentence behind bars
at the county jail, with the remainder of the term to be served on
supervised probation.

Despite reports that deputies and onlookers wagered on the fights, Taylor
categorically denied that he had gambled in any way.

"There was no money that changed hands," he said.

Likewise, no wagering occurred among at least three other off-duty
sheriff's deputies who were present during the fights to provide security
for the event organizers, Taylor said.

Taylor and Ervin both said they were uncertain whether gambling by any
sheriff's department employee would be illegal or violate any departmental
policies. But Ervin conceded that if the deputies had arranged the inmates'
participation for the expressed purpose of gambling, it would be improper.

In the Dec. 13 court order that shut down the jail's trusty program, Hooper
wrote that "illegal drugs and narcotics have found a safe haven in our jail."

Hooper also stated that 70 percent of jail trustys had recently tested
positive for marijuana or opiates, then reasoned that the trusty program
had to be abolished "because it will not work unless there is airtight
supervision of trustys as well as all other inmates."

Hooper went on to absolve Cocke County Sheriff D.C. Ramsey of
responsibility for the jail's condition, saying: "The jail has been a
continual problem for the sheriff, and he is no more responsible for the
jail situation than this Court, particularly in light of his department's
limited resources."

Ramsey couldn't be reached for comment.

District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr. said late Tuesday that he had
"just been notified" of the situation and was "making inquiries."

Cocke County Commissioner Rick Ellison said he was upset by the liability
issues that might have come up had one of the inmates, their opponents or a
bystander been injured during the contest.

"People have started asking questions, and I don't know just what we'll be
doing about it at this time," Ellison said.

Ellison, who also works as an assistant supervisor at Quality Care
Ambulance Service, said the fight's promoter had contracted with his
company to make sure trained medical personnel were on hand in case someone
was hurt. Ellison was present at Saturday night's fights.

"I told the deputies who were there that I didn't think (the waivers) would
hold up very much," he said.

The promoter offered cash prizes of $1,000, but none of the inmates won,
according to Taylor.

Had they beaten their opponents, he explained, the inmates had agreed to
donate the cash to a battered women's shelter.