Sills the bitch

[Master-9]

Perdue names panel to mull Barrett suspension

By NANCY BADERTSCHER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/01/04

Gov. Sonny Perdue is appointing a panel today to investigate whether to suspend Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett.

The governor's actions come at the request of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association. Scott Chipwood, sheriff of Whitfield County and president of the sheriffs association, sent Perdue the letter today asking him to start the proceedings.
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Barrett, who is not running for re-election this year, is the subject of a federal probe into $7.2 million of investments of public money she made and campaign contributions she received from businessmen who stood to benefit from her investments. At least four of the contributions far exceeded the legal limit.

The Fulton County jail, which Barrett oversees, has been beset with problems, including 10 escapes or early releases in the past two years. The facility was the target of a scathing report this spring from an independent jail monitor. A federal judge last week ruled on a lawsuit filed by a jail inmate by saying county officials must demonstrate to him at a July 8 hearing why he shouldn't suspend Barrett from supervising the jail.

Fulton County Commission Chairwoman Karen Handel has been calling since April for Barrett to resign.

State law allows Perdue to appoint two sheriff's and the attorney general to investigate Barrett and recommend whether she should be suspended. The law also gives the governor power to suspend her for up to 90 days and to request that the the district attorney in Fulton County petition the Superior Court to remove her.

Besides Attorney General Thurbert Baker, the members of the panel are DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown and Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.

Perdue also ordered an investigation of Jenkins County Sheriff James R. Womack, who has been accused of using inmates as personal laborers. Womack, 69, said he paid inmates to work, but denied it was for personal gain.

The same panel will investigate both sheriffs and has 30 days to make a recommendation.

[Master-9]

Master-9 said:

State law allows Perdue to appoint two sheriff's and the attorney general to investigate Barrett and recommend whether she should be suspended. The law also gives the governor power to suspend her for up to 90 days and to request that the the district attorney in Fulton County petition the Superior Court to remove her.

Besides Attorney General Thurbert Baker, the members of the panel are DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown and Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.

Sills is everywhere but Putnam county

[SatiyaH]

The Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of the county. The Sheriff serves as an officer of the court. His duties involve delivering and carrying out orders of county courts and transporting prisoners. He is empowered to serve writs, processes, and other judicial documents. The Sheriff is also responsible for investigating county residents applying for gun permits and issuing a firearms license.

Primary responsibilities include,
Conducting criminal investigations
Arresting offenders
Serving criminal and civil warrants
Providing courthouse and courtroom security
Providing general law enforcement protection

Daily duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

Develop, plan and implement department goals and objectives
Administer policies and procedures
Coordinate daily activities with department Under Sheriff’s
Oversee the department’s work plan
Review and evaluate methods and procedures
Participate in the development of the budget
Monitor and approve expenditures
Prepare administrative reports for presentation before other elected officials


The Sheriff has both criminal and civil jurisdiction in both Putnam County and the City of Eatonton. However, deputies concentrate their law enforcement activities within Putnam County as the City of Eatonton has a municipal Police Department. The Sheriff’s Office serves civil process and provides courtroom security for the City on a routine basis, and provides other services as called upon or is necessary.


Summary of Goals and Responsibilities

To assist the public to protect life and property, and to preserve peace through programs designed to enforce laws, prevent crimes, and to provide an efficient level of response to both emergency and non-emergency requests for police services
To ensure protection of the community through the operation of secure correctional facilities while housing inmates in a safe and constitutionally adequate environment
To use progressive administrative practices to ensure legal and fiscally sound operations
To assit the courts with regard to offender disposition
To ensure that all inmates are processed into the correctional system in a consistent and humane manner
To maintain an inmate classification system that allows for safe and constitutional housing
To encourage and participate in research regarding the causes of delinquency and crime, and the effectiveness of correctional methods
To assist minor and adult offenders to promote law-abiding behavior
To promote and participate in coordinated planning and administration of diversified programs, activities and services of criminal justice agencies
To motivate employee performance through education, training and career opportunities

[SatiyaH]

As defined in Georgia law, i.e., Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) 15-16-10:

(a) It is the duty of the sheriff:

(1) To execute and return the processes and orders of the courts and of officers of competent authority, if not void, with due diligence, when delivered to him for that purpose, according to this Code;

(2) To attend, by himself or his deputy, upon all sessions of the superior court of the county and also upon sessions of the probate court whenever required by the judge thereof and, while the courts are in session, never to leave same without the presence of himself or his deputy, or both, if required;

(3) To attend, in the same manner specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection, at the place or places of holding an election at the county site, on the day of an election, from the opening to the closing of the polls, and to take under his charge all subordinate officers present, as police to preserve order;

(4) To publish sales, citations, and other proceedings as required by law and to keep a file of all newspapers in which his official advertisements appear, in the manner required of clerks of the superior courts;

(5) To keep an execution docket wherein he must enter a full description of all executions delivered to him and the dates of their delivery, together with all his actions thereon, and to have the same ready for use in any court of his county;

(6) To keep a book in which shall be entered a record of all sales made by process of court or by agreement of the parties under the sanction of the court, describing accurately the property and the process under which sold, the date of the levy and sale, the purchaser, and the price;

(7) To receive from the preceding sheriff all unexecuted writs and processes and proceed to execute the same; to carry into effect any levy or arrest made by a predecessor; to put purchasers into possession, and to make titles to purchasers at his or her predecessor's sales, when not done by his or her predecessor;

(8) To perform such other duties as are or may be imposed by law or which necessarily appertain to his or her office; and

(9) To exercise the same duties, powers, and arrest authority within municipalities which such officer exercises in the unincorporated areas of counties.

(b) If any sheriff or deputy fails to comply with any provision of subsection (a) of this Code section, he shall be fined for a contempt as the clerk of the superior court is fined in similar cases. Code Section 15-6-82, as to removal, shall also apply to sheriffs.

(c) In all counties of this state having a population of not less than 350,000 nor more than 550,000 according to the United States decennial census of 1990 or any future such census, it shall be the duty of the sheriffs of such counties to receive, confine, feed, and care for all persons charged with the violation of any ordinances of such counties in the same manner as persons charged with an indictable offense, whether such person charged with the violation of an ordinance is being held pending a hearing before the recorder's courts of such counties or has been sentenced by the recorder's courts to imprisonment in the county jail.


CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL PROVISIONS ESTABLISHING THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE IN GEORGIA

In Georgia, the Sheriff is the highest-ranking law enforcement official in the county. As Fulton County is the County in which the State Capital is located, the Sheriff of Fulton County is also known as the "High Sheriff."
The office of the Sheriff in Georgia is considered to be both a constitutional and county office. The constitutionality of the office stems from the common law, from the constitutional provisions extended to certain offices in existence when the first Georgia constitution was ratified, and because the Sheriff is listed in the Georgia Constitution of 1983 as one of four independently elected county officers (see below).
In the structure of county government, the office of Sheriff has the distinction of not being simply another department. Because the office of Sheriff is a constitutional one, its internal operations are the sole responsibility of the Sheriff, and the Sheriff is not subordinate to a county administrator or manager.
While most of the legal provisions concerning the office of Sheriff in Georgia are contained in the state's statutory and case law, one paragraph of the state constitution does apply to the sheriff. Article IX, section 1, paragraph III, of the Georgia Constitution of 1983, specifically lists the Sheriff as a county officer. In addition, general law requires that all county officers must have resided in the county for at least two years prior to the election and be a qualified voter.

Constitution, State of Georgia, effective July 1, 1983.
Article IX. Counties and Municipal Corporations
Section 1. Counties
Paragraph III. County officers; election; term; compensation.

(a) The clerk of the superior court, judge of the probate court, sheriff, tax receiver, tax collector, and tax commissioner, where such office has replaced the tax receiver and tax collector, shall be elected by the qualified voters of their respective counties for terms of four years and shall have such qualifications, powers, and duties as provided by general law.
(b) County officers listed in subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph may be on a fee basis, salary basis, or fee basis supplemented by salary, in such manner as may be directed by law. Minimum compensation for said county officers may be established by the General Assembly by general law. Such minimum compensation may be supplemented by local law or, if such authority is delegated by local law, by action of the county governing authority.
(c) The General Assembly may consolidate the offices of tax receiver and tax collector into the office of tax commissioner.

[Master-9]

> Metro > Atlanta
Barrett mobilizes volunteer deputies

By STEVE VISSER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/02/04

Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett is calling up volunteer deputies to bolster staffing at the overcrowded jail.

In a letter to about 300 reserve deputies this week, Barrett told them that after this weekend she was canceling the civic and charitable events for which they often suit up. Instead, she said, she needed them to work at the jail, warrant division or prisoner transfer division.
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The reservists are certified as either jailers or peace officers, receive no salary, pay for their own equipment and are supposed to work 16 to 24 hours a month. Many of them wanted to be police officers but also wanted to make more money than a law officer's salary.

A lawsuit citing jail conditions prompted U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob to order county officials to meet with him Thursday to discuss whether he should appoint someone to oversee the jail in place of Barrett. The federal lawsuit, filed June 22 by the Southern Center for Human Rights, said understaffing and overcrowding at the jail were making it dangerous for guards and inmates.

Chief Jailer Roland Lane has said he regularly has one deputy watching 200 or 300 prisoners. He has said he is down 94 positions at the jail because of a county hiring freeze and that the jail often has only half the number of guards it needs.

County Commission Chairwoman Karen Handel said Barrett had spent money on promotions and raises that could have gone to hire guards. Handel has criticized the sheriff as running a department top-heavy with brass.

A spokeswoman Friday said Barrett was too busy to comment.

In another development Friday, Barrett fired Lt. Dwayne Turner, an assistant watch commander who arranged for a metro Atlanta rap artist to shoot a music video in the jail two weeks ago, said sheriff spokeswoman Sgt. Nikita Hightower.

Also Friday, a group of black ministers and a veteran legislator called on state Attorney General Thurbert Baker and DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown, both black Democrats, to refuse to participate in a panel examining whether Gov. Sonny Perdue should suspend Barrett. On Thursday the governor announced he was appointing a three-man panel to advise him within 30 days.

Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) said Perdue created the panel in an effort to deliver the sheriff's office to a Republican candidate in the November election. Barrett, a Democrat, is not running for re-election.

Brooks criticized the third panel member, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, a white former Democrat who qualified as an independent this year, for investigating the Nuwaubians, an African-American group once based in Eatonton. Malachi York, the group's leader, was sentenced to 135 years in federal prison after being convicted in January of child molestation and racketeering.

Perdue said Thursday he appointed the tribunal after receiving a written request from the Georgia Sheriffs' Association.

The law allows Perdue to suspend Barrett for 90 days if the panel recommends it. Fulton County Chief Superior Court Judge Doris Downs would appoint an interim sheriff if Barrett were suspended.

The Rev. Darrell Elligan, president of Concerned Black Clergy, said Barrett had done an "excellent job" during her 12 years as sheriff.

The news conference, attended by about a dozen supporters, blamed the media, especially The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, for Barrett's trouble. One man held up a sign, "Let the courts decide, not the AJC."

The U.S. attorney's office is investigating the sheriff's investment of $7.2 million in county funds, more than $2 million of which has been lost. The county auditor has called the investments illegal.

Barrett has acknowledged receiving and later returning campaign contributions in excess of the legal limit from individuals who benefited from the investments.

The gathering became confrontational when a man who blamed Barrett for selling a tax lien on his mother's property stood before the cameras with two signs calling attention to his Web site, www.fultontaxscam.com.

Two of Barrett's supporters, the Rev. Richard H. Cobble and political activist Leonard Tate, tried to push the man, John Jamont, away while other Barrett supporters shouted, "This is not your press conference. Call your own press conference."

A deputy moved in to ask Jamont to leave but retreated after other Barrett supporters said Jamont should be allowed to stay.

[Master-9]

Master-9 said:

Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) said Perdue created the panel in an effort to deliver the sheriff's office to a Republican candidate in the November election. Barrett, a Democrat, is not running for re-election.

Brooks criticized the third panel member, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, a white former Democrat who qualified as an independent this year, for investigating the Nuwaubians, an African-American group once based in Eatonton. Malachi York, the group's leader, was sentenced to 135 years in federal prison after being convicted in January of child molestation and racketeering.

Hats off to my man Tyrone Brooks

[Master-9]

Master-9 said:

Perdue names panel to mull Barrett suspension

By NANCY BADERTSCHER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/01/04

Gov. Sonny Perdue is appointing a panel today to investigate whether to suspend Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett.

The governor's actions come at the request of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association. Scott Chipwood, sheriff of Whitfield County and president of the sheriffs association, sent Perdue the letter today asking him to start the proceedings.
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Barrett, who is not running for re-election this year, is the subject of a federal probe into $7.2 million of investments of public money she made and campaign contributions she received from businessmen who stood to benefit from her investments. At least four of the contributions far exceeded the legal limit.

The Fulton County jail, which Barrett oversees, has been beset with problems, including 10 escapes or early releases in the past two years. The facility was the target of a scathing report this spring from an independent jail monitor. A federal judge last week ruled on a lawsuit filed by a jail inmate by saying county officials must demonstrate to him at a July 8 hearing why he shouldn't suspend Barrett from supervising the jail.

Fulton County Commission Chairwoman Karen Handel has been calling since April for Barrett to resign.

State law allows Perdue to appoint two sheriff's and the attorney general to investigate Barrett and recommend whether she should be suspended. The law also gives the governor power to suspend her for up to 90 days and to request that the the district attorney in Fulton County petition the Superior Court to remove her.

Besides Attorney General Thurbert Baker, the members of the panel are DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown and Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.

Perdue also ordered an investigation of Jenkins County Sheriff James R. Womack, who has been accused of using inmates as personal laborers. Womack, 69, said he paid inmates to work, but denied it was for personal gain.

The same panel will investigate both sheriffs and has 30 days to make a recommendation.

Sheriff: Feds can have jail
Barrett agrees to give up control of Fulton lockup

By BETH WARREN, STEVE VISSER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/06/04

Sheriff Jackie Barrett informed a federal judge Tuesday she was ready to give up control of the troubled Fulton County Jail, saying it would be a "positive step" if he replaced her.

U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob had set a hearing with county officials for Thursday to determine whether Barrett is fit to oversee the jail, which houses more than 3,000 inmates.
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The judge is troubled over a lawsuit filed June 22 by the Southern Center for Human Rights that claims overcrowding and a deteriorating infrastructure endanger deputies and inmates alike. The lawsuit seeks federal intervention.

"It is clear that the issues you have identified are real and ongoing concerns," Barrett wrote Shoob, who has said the jail "is like a leaky rudderless ship."

But Barrett also told the judge in the hand-delivered letter that the custodian, formally called a "receiver," needed the ability to hire more staff, order repairs and direct the state to take prisoners who have been convicted of crimes. She blamed the Fulton County Commission for preventing her from fixing these problems.

"Given my experience, it is absolutely clear to me that without a long-term and continuing plan for jail oversight by an entity who has authority over matters such as inmate population, staffing, building maintenance, and security, no one, be it a Receiver or Sheriff, will be able to deliver to the citizens of Fulton County a jail that is safe and secure," her letter stated.

Though overseeing the jail is the sheriff's primary responsibility, Barrett will remain as sheriff, earning $135,000, until her term expires Dec. 31. She has decided not to seek re-election for a fourth term.

Barrett will continue overseeing deputies who serve warrants and provide courthouse security and transport inmates.

In a rare move last week, Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed a panel of three law enforcement officials to investigate whether Barrett, the nation's first elected black female sheriff, should be suspended from office. He asked the special panel to make a recommendation within 30 days.

Barrett's decision not to fight removal from jail oversight doesn't affect the work of the investigative panel, said Dan McLagan, a spokesman for the governor's office.

"They will continue looking into the situation," McLagan said. "They can cast as broad of a net as they wish."

Barrett is also being investigated by a federal grand jury for using millions of dollars in funds under her control for questionable investments. The investments, along with dubious campaign contributions from individuals linked to the investments, came to light earlier this year, triggering the downward spiral of her law enforcement career in the county.

Barrett vs. Handel

Shoob declined Tuesday to comment on Barrett's offer to give up control of the jail. He still intends to meet with the sheriff and other county officials Thursday.

The judge is seeking recommendations from County Attorney O.V. Brantley and Steve Bright, director of the human rights center, for a federal custodian for the jail.

Barrett's letter said the County Commission refused to fund a plan to transfer 300 inmates to Clayton County and implemented a countywide hiring freeze that included jail staff.

She said plans for a work-release facility for up to 500 probation violators in south Fulton had stalled. The jail houses 400 probation violators and 200 inmates awaiting transfer to state prison.

"The receiver should have the authority to effect delivery of these inmates to state custody," Barrett wrote. "I lack the authority to make this happen."

Bright said Tuesday a custodian appointed by the judge might be better able to implement changes because he or she would have more credibility with the County Commission than the sheriff.

Some Fulton commissioners — Chairwoman Karen Handel in particular — have contended that Barrett created the staff shortages and infrastructure problems through mismanagement of her office's $80 million annual budget.

Handel said Barrett's letter to the judge was a publicity stunt that would have little bearing on Shoob's decision to remove her. If the judge were to appoint a custodian with an extensive background in corrections, Handel said, it would carry weight with the commission in terms of funding and staffing.

"What I'm looking for and what the board of commissioners wants is to know what the problems are and what the plan is to fix them," she said.

Bright said that if the County Commission "balks at doing what is necessary to get the jail up to staff and repair the systems, then we have a federal judge to back up the monitor [custodian]."

If Shoob appoints a custodian next week, it would be his second intervention in five years. The judge placed the Fulton jail under the federal court's supervision from 1999 to 2002 in response to a previous lawsuit by the human rights center.

The current lawsuit claims jail sections designed to be staffed by 14 guards have two guards. Plumbing, ventilation and air-conditioning, laundry and electrical systems are broken, the lawsuit says. It cites a report in May by independent monitor Robert Greifinger that the jail is in a "state of crisis," with a growing risk for violence and transmission of disease.

Chief Jailer Roland Lane has said he often has only one guard watching 200 to 300 inmates. He said 20 guards had been attacked by inmates, with seven being injured in the first three months of this year, and that staff injuries were up 43 percent since the federal court order was lifted in 2002. At least one prisoner was in a coma after a beating by inmates and another inmate's ear was partially bitten off, Lane said.

Bright is suing the sheriff and County Commission on behalf of an inmate who said he was beaten in April by a guard while handcuffed.