GADSDEN COUNTY, FL. (WTXL) - A longtime sheriff is under fire for the way he handled inmates under his care and now the state attorney is wanting him held in contempt of court.
Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young says despite the allegations his county remains safe, "Gadsden County now under my leadership is one of the safest counties in the State of Florida."
State Attorney Willie Meggs is wanting Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young be held in contempt of court over a furlough program for inmates at the Gadsden County Jail.
According to Young, "He is playing this like I'm releasing these people into the community of violent crimes. these people go for eight hours, they are still in my custody."
Meggs claims that in many instances Sheriff Young authorized inmate furloughs with out the conscent of court authorization.
Young says, "You have a 157 bed jail and any given time you have 200 to 250 inmates in there. fights break out issues stem from that overcrowding and I have to deal with it. so a lot of these people who are on trustee status, we look at like if we can relieve some of that pressure for just a little bit eight hours it helps our staff."
A judge has ruled that both sides get their arguments together and they'll revisit the case Monday February 16th.
According to young, "We'll get into each one of these furloughs or potential of what they call furloughs and if the judge sees fit that i violated a court order then i will be held in contempt."
This is a case law enforcement will be watching closely, since furloughs is a common practice.
