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FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) — As a judge mulls whether two former jail inmates should be reimbursed for funds taken out of their accounts in a "pay-for-stay" program that has been stopped, a Utah state legislator is crafting a measure that would clarify state law so sheriffs can use the practice.
Judge Glen Dawson has scheduled two hearings in November to determine if the Davis County should give money back to a pair of inmates who had funds taken from their accounts to pay for their stay, the Standard-Examiner reports (http://bit.ly/1qtWhZA).
Meanwhile, Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton, is working on a bill for next year's legislative session that would revise the law passed in 2007 to make crystal clear that counties can collect payments from inmates to shift the burden off of taxpayers.
In April, a different judge ordered the Davis County Sheriff's Office to immediately cease the practice of taking money from the personal accounts of inmates to pay for lodging and medical expenses in a practice known as "pay for stay."
Judge Michael Allphin said then the sheriff's office needs authorization from a judge in order to take money from the accounts that inmates typically use for food and other personal items.
That ruling has had a chilling effect on county jails around the state, Ray said.
"Sheriff's offices across the state are scared to do anything," Ray told the Standard-Examiner.
The Davis County Sheriff's Office says it collected nearly $370,000 from inmates in the program last year and waived an additional $858,000 it could have charged in exchange for inmate labor. The county charges inmates $10 a day to cover service costs.
Sheriff's officials say nobody questioned their methods until 2013, and they had already ceased collecting money until inmates are sentenced.
The issue was first raised last year by public defender Todd Utzinger who was hearing complaints from inmates. Allphin said that he, too, had been hearing a chorus of complaints.
Former inmates Jessica Wolfe and Anthony Christopher Lopez are the ones asking for the money taken from their jail commissary accounts to be reimbursed. Wolfe said she was in jail for 16 months and never told she had to pay for her stay, but still charged.
Kent Hart, executive director with the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said defense attorneys will fight against any proposed changes to the law. The measure had good intentions but has causes unforeseen consequences, Hart said.
"In the long run, it's not saving any money," Hart told the Standard-Examiner. "It's just keeping people down and making them into lifetime criminals."
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Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net
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