The Lexington advertiser., 1941-04-24
Grand Jury Reports;
Finds II True Bills

To the Honorable S. F. Davis, Judge of
The Fourth Circuit Court District of
Mississippi:
We, your Grand Jury, empanelled,
sworn and charged at the regular April,
1941, Term of the Circuit Court of
Holmes County, Mississippi, hereby re-
spectfully present this, our report of
the acts and proceedings had and done
by our bodys:
We have been in session two CD days,
and during said period of time, have
made the various inspections enjoined
upon us so to make by Your Honor, and
have examined 46 witnesses, and from
our examinations and deliberations have
found 6 mo Bills" and have found q
"True Bills" which we herewith return
into open court and present to Your
Honor.
Through committees appointed from
| our midst, we made an investigation,
and herewith report, as to the follow
ing. "a The County Records from our
| necessarily limited facilities and exam
| ination we found to be neatly ana
correctly kept and posted; CD The
County Jail we found to be neatly and
| sanitarily kept and maintained, the
premises kept in orderly condition, ana
/ the bedding and food furnished the
prisoners therein substantial and Oh
good quality; Cd The County Farm and
Poorhouse was ascertained to be efti-
| ciently supervised and managed, SUD
stantial food furnished prisoners and
| inmates in abundance, sanitation thereat
| of high order, and the facilities and
plant adequate. We, however, are ad-
| vised, and so find, that there is short
| age of labor, and we request your
Honor, if consistent with law and your
discretion, to dispatch all convicted
persons to this place, as the farm is In
need of this labor wherewith properly
to work said place; and (4) as to tna'
portion of the State Farm or Peniten-
tiary located at Belmont, we unhesitat-
ingly recommend that the entire prem
ises and, buildings should be screened
at once, including the cages, Sergeant's
house and other buildings: that there
is an immediate need for the replace
| ment or repair of the toilet facilities
| in the cages, as we found commodes
to be utterly unsanitary and thai
stencil and odors therefrom were very
evident; that the cages, i.e., the quarters
for the prisoners, were in highly un'
safe condition in that there was only
one stairway leading from the lowel
story to the upper story quarters, ant
that there is manifest need for al
least two fire escapes, one to be at eacf
end, the building being so constructed
as fire could Immediately demolish tht
| interior of the buildings and burn the
convicts therein the guard house was
sorely in need of repairs, as also the
Sergeant's residence, which is in con.
siderably rundown and delapidated con.
dition, the front porch of which can
hardly be walked across because OF the
| rotten flooring; because Of the heat
we can hardly conceive how the pris-
oners in the upper story of the cage can
| sleep there, and as rememdy for TINS
we recommend more ventilation, and II
not too costly, attic fans.
We wish to express our appreciation
to Your Honor for his capable and en-
Tightening charge to us on the opening
day, to the Sheriff and his deputies
/ for their service to us, and to the Dlss
trict and County Attorney for their
advices and attention to our body.
| And now having reported our acts in
| the premises, we beg to be discharged,
subject to recall when and if desired
by Your Honor during the current term
of Court Respectfully submitted this
April 22nd, AID, 1941.
| b. F. HARTHCOCK,
| Foreman of the Grand Jury
G. G. GRIFFIN,