Jail cost vs. reward — Is it worth it for the City to jail people for fines?

Cost vs. reward was the concern for NAACP President the Rev. Dr. Rico Cain when he appeared before the Brookhaven Board of Aldermen Tuesday.

Cain said within the previous six months, he had received complaints from each of the city’s six wards regarding City inmates at the Lincoln County Jail.

“The problem is City inmates are locked up for a $300 to $400 fine, sometimes up to 90 days,” Cain said. “County inmates get ‘paid’ to sit in jail.”

Cain said in talking with some inmates and families, he understood that a person jailed by the County could pay off $100 of their fine for each day he or she remained in behind bars. The concerns he had heard were that City inmates could not do the same.

Cain was invited by City Court bailiff Vincent Fernando to visit the court later in the week and discuss his concerns with Judge Louwlynn “Van” Williams.

On Wednesday, City Board Attorney Bobby Moak said he thought he understood what Cain was getting at.

“The City pays Lincoln County $50 per day on any inmate sent over to the jail,” Moak said. “For instance, if they are sent from Justice Court and the fine is $1,000, the County will credit them $100 per day, so they spend 10 days in jail. It’s basically trying to make people pay their fines.”

At any point during that time, if the person jailed were to come up with the money owed, they could pay the balance and be released.

“It still costs the County $50 per day to keep them in jail. That’s the average cost of housing,” said Moak. “If someone pleads guilty, is found guilty, or their bond is revoked and they are jailed, the State will rebate $25 per day to the County, because that person is considered a Mississippi Department of Corrections inmate now. If MDOC doesn’t pick up the inmate within 30 days, they will then rebate $30 per day.”

“If the City Court judge sends someone to jail for a $500 fine, it still costs the County $50 a day for housing,” he said. “But the City can also charge inmates $35 per day to house them.”

That means — if the City allowed such — a jailed inmate who owes $1,000 could spend 10 days in jail, with $100 per day removed from their fine, and be released still owing $350 to the City.

While the numbers and considerations are different from what Cain presented at the Aldermen meeting, Moak said he believed the pastor desired to set a credit amount in a similar manner. That matter may be entirely up to the Court.

The post Jail cost vs. reward — Is it worth it for the City to jail people for fines? appeared first on Daily Leader .