Sheriff Skimped on Jail Food, Pocketed Difference

(Decatur, Alabama) U. W. Clemon of Federal District Court in Birmingham ordered Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett to jail this week for allegedly serving jail inmates insufficient food to save money which he pocketed.

The inmates' diet kept them alive but they lost weight and testified that they were always hungry.

Judge Clemon and Sheriff Bartlett blame an outdated Alabama law which allows the state’s sheriffs to keep for themselves whatever money is left over after they feed their prisoners. Sheriff Bartlett was able to augment his income by $212,000 over the last three years.

In Bartlett's defense, Bobby Timmons of the Alabama Sheriffs Association said that Sheriff Bartlett was merely following the law. The feeding allowance for the inmates is by the rules, he said.

The inmates’ complaints came to light because the jail, which holds about 300, was already under a federal consent decree governing conditions there.

“Given the testimony about the fairly blatant violations of the consent decree, I knew of no more efficient means of impressing on the sheriff the seriousness of the matter than by placing him in jail until he indicated a willingness to comply,” the judge said.

Sheriff Bartlett was released from jail on Thursday afternoon, after he submitted a plan that satisfied the judge. He will now spend all the food money solely on food and will “no longer keep any funds for his personal use,” Judge Clemon said.

After his release, Sheriff Bartlett issued a statement.

In the Morgan County Jail, we have several procedures in place to catch and correct those issues and other complaints filed by inmates. I heard some of those complaints for the first time in preparing for the hearing. I have taken corrective measures to receive and review all complaints in Morgan County Jail and make sure those complaints have been addressed.

I know that the portion size issue came up, and it is possible for inmates serving in the kitchen to short another inmate they had a grudge with or just didn't like. I have been told by staff members and inmates that this may have occurred on some occasions. Staff will now directly observe portion sizes of all meals.

The Morgan County Jail served over 328,000 meals in 2008 and only received 15 complaints on the issue of food. That is a very low number, especially coming from a jail. I have never or would not ever have tolerated an inmate being fed inadequate portions or meals for any reason. That never happened to my knowledge.

In summary, Sheriff Bartlett denies any wrongdoing.

For comparison sake, there have been no reported complaints about the food at Gitmo.