Wilcox says the procedure calls for clerks to submit a certified copy of the defendant's sentencing entry and cost bill to the county prosecutor, who, in turn, sends it to the institution where the inmate is being held. The paperwork is then forwarded to the attorney general's office to make sure it is complete. Joe Andrews, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, said more and more counties have begun collection efforts against inmates in recent years. He said each inmate in the state prison system has an account, which the inmate can use to purchase commissary items. Money can be placed in the account by friends or relatives.
Some inmates earn wages for work they do in prison, which are also deposited to the account.
Nearly all the money in the account, however, can be claimed for court costs or certain other debts, like child support. The process can be repeated each month. He protested when Hancock County started taking money from his account at Madison Correctional Institution, filing a motion to dismiss court costs based on a claim that he is indigent. Judge Joseph Niemeyer rejected the motion. Hancock County Assistant Prosecutor Kristen Johnson explained that Dougherty, while declared indigent for purposes of obtaining court-appointed counsel when his case was pending, failed to ask the court to suspend the court costs when he was sentenced in April 1994.