Tobacco hot commodity in prison
Fayette County Prison Warden Larry Medlock said tobacco has become a hot commodity in the prison, with inmates’ friends and family members trying to help them sneak it into the lockup. Medlock said during Wednesday’s meeting of the county prison board that during criminal court terms, court officials found tobacco in the vents of the restrooms of the courthouse, presumably left for those defendants, Medlock said.
“They’re trying every avenue to get the contraband in,” he said.
The prison went tobacco free in January 2003.
Medlock said that recently an inmate had tobacco in the annex, a separate part of the prison that opened in 2002.
Medlock said that someone snuck tobacco through the annex fence for an inmate during a snowstorm.
“He broke into the prison?” asked board member Judge John F. Wagner Jr., laughing. “That’s a novel concept.”
In an attempt to stop that from happening, Medlock said razor wire has been added to the fence around the annex.
Medlock said tobacco is big business in the prison because inmates can net $50 for even a small amount of tobacco.
Recently, Medlock said prison officials found another bag of tobacco that had been thrown over the fence surrounding the annex.
He said keeping tobacco out of the prison has “become a daily chore.”
Wagner asked Medlock if prison officials have been prosecuting inmates who sneak tobacco into the prison. Medlock said they have not because tobacco is not an illegal substance, although it’s precluded in the prison.
“Give them an extra six months or year or move them from county to state time, and let the word get out,” Wagner said.
Also during the meeting, Medlock said the prison population was at 250, with 222 men and 28 women.
He said that the population rose in the last two weeks because of court sentences. He also said more women were arrested and placed in jail.
No prisoners were being housed in out-of-county jails, and Medlock said the county has not needed to house any prisoners in nearby county prisons because of overcrowding this year.
Medlock said he expected the population to be reduced today when several prisoners are transferred to serve state sentences.
The population during the first three months of this year has been 9 percent lower than the first three months of 2006, Medlock said.