Judge’s order removes inmate workers from county, city

As of Monday, none of the inmates sentenced by County Judge Woody Hatcher will be allowed to work as “trusties” outside the facility, according to Jackson County Administrator Ted Lakey.
Lakey said the Jackson County jail administrator had notified him of Hatcher’s order late Thursday afternoon.
Lakey said he expects to communicate with the judge soon, in hopes of finding out why the order was given.
According to Lakey, the county relies on the labor of an average of 40 inmates a day. Judge Hatcher’s order will apply to about three-quarters of them, he said. The inmates work in various county departments, from road and bridge, to janitorial services in the courthouse and other county buildings.
“It’s surprising,” Lakey said. “I hope it can be resolved because these inmates are invaluable to us. They flag traffic, do maintenance, assist the mechanics, just a lot of basic labor.”
Lakey said he expects the outside work ban to have a significant effect.
“I don’t know that we can hire anybody else (to take up the slack) at this point, because our budget has been set, and I just hope it doesn’t result in a drop in the level of service we’re able to provide to the citizens of Jackson County,” Lakey said.
If Hatcher’s order stands, the city of Marianna could be short five to six inmates a day, according to City Manager Jim Dean, who was notified of the order by Lakey.
Dean, who had not spoken directly with Hatcher or jail personnel as of late Thursday, said he has no idea why the order was given, but said his departments will adjust.
“I have no idea why Judge Hatcher has ordered this, but he’s a good man, and we’ll go forward and prosper,” Dean said. “We’ll improvise and make do.”
Hatcher attempted to return a call from the Floridan Thursday, but could not immediately get in touch with this reporter.