The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1938-09-01
To The People OF Holmes County

0ONsIS/
lected 60 cents a day for. each pris-
oner instead of SO cents day. There
is no contention that the Jail fees
Of $4,000 were not due the sheriff,
but it is contended the same could
not be paid out of the county treas
ury.
Secion 6505, Code 1880 which
brings forward Chapter q of Extra
ordinary Session of Legislature 1928
and Chapter 206 of Laws of 1924,
contains this provision:
(b) In respect to victualizing
prisoners and inmates of county
Jail, the sheriff shall victual the
prisoners and inmates of the Jail
of the county, and shall make
out detailed list of said prison.
ers and inmates of the Jail, and
the time each was victualiZed by
him, and shall make affidavit
as to the correctness thereof, and
shall present the same to the
board of supervisors for pay
ment by them, as of all other ac-
counts coming before them, and
the board shall audit the same,
and shall pay the same to the
sheriff out of the county treas
ury. The amount to be paid to
the sheriff for same shall be
fixed by said board at a sum
of not less than 40 cents per day
and not to exceed 60 cents per
day per inmate.
After the passage of this Act, the
was fixed by the Board of
Supervisors at 60 cents per day and
here does not seem to have been
any change in the order of the board
TO that effect.
1t is contended by the State Au-
iitor that this amount per day to be
paid for prisoners has since been
reduced to so cents q day, and that
the differences above claimed as
over payments to sheriff A. B. Hol-
der and to sheriff w. L. Ellis of 10
cents day for feeding prisoners
should be repaid by the above She
riffs or the sureties on their bonds
INTO the county treasury.
The Jail fees of $4,000 alleged to
be due by A. B. Holder. sheriff, ard
$4,000 due by w. L. Ellis, present
sheriff, were claimed and collected
BY above named sheriffs under the
provisions Of Section 1889 Code 1880,
fees of sheriff, paragraph (v) each
$1OO.
That means for each person who
is committed to Jail and locked up
in Jail, there is no point raised that
the number of persons committed
and placed in Jail as shown by the
several accounts for the period in
question of sheriffs Holder and Ellis
are not correct. 1t is admitted that
they are due that item of cost Just
ike every other item of cost pro-
vided by Section 1889.
The law further provides that in
cases where prisoners
go to the county farm and work
out their fines and costs, that the
sheriff and other officers are en-
titled to collect their costs from the
county. The same is true in cases
where prisoners are convicted and
sent to the penitentiary from the
Circuit Court, the sheriffs are en-
titled to collect their costs, includ-
ing state cases where the state fails
to convict, which OF course includes
Jail fees and commitments, proy,d-
ed the costs cannot be made out Of
the defendants, prisoners and con.
victs, the law so states and the At
torney General has SO ruled. The
contention, however, being that com
mitment fees of dollar each can
not be paid out of the county treasury.
The sheriffs contend that the paw
ments out of county treasury refers
to payments from tax money placed
in the county treasury, and has no
~oAAAaSSeAoh Win lines ana COSTS that
are collected and paid into the coun-
ty treasury during the year, which
is more than enough to take care
Of commitment fees of $1OO each OF
all prisoners and inmates of Jail for
the time covered by the Auditors
report
The Auditors report calls atten-
ton to the fact there is doubtless
considerable sums still due sheriff
A. B. Holder and sheriff w. L. Ellis
for court costs due them in cases
where the prisoners have worked. out
their fines and costs on the county
farm or have been sentenced to
the state penitentiary and the costs
cannot be made out Of the prisoners
or convicts. It is more than probable
that il sheriffs Holder and Ell;s
were paid by the county, or credited
with such costs still due them. i.
would be more than enough to take
care OF the difference between 80
and 60 cents per day feeding pris-