Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Sheriff Addresses Complaints About Nevada County Jail

Complaints have been made concerning conditions at the Nevada County jail.

These complaints range from not getting properly fed to having rusty, leaky showers.

In all, a list of 25 different complaints were made about jail conditions. Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell addressed each of the gripes, and said the inmates are being housed in a detention center, not a motel.

The Nevada County jail is the second oldest in the state of Arkansas and does have some problems.

Where the showers are concerned, he said, one of the biggest reasons for leaks is inmates abuse them and try to tear them up.

Recently a shampoo bottle was stuffed in a drain resulting in a leak. The leak was so bad water ran into the criminal investigator's office and damaged the computer.

"They're upset because they're in here," Otwell said of the inmates, "but it's no one's fault but their own."

Complaints were also made about the food served, how it is prepared and the amount given to each inmate.

However, Otwell said inmates are given three well balanced meals daily, with the food meeting jail standard requirements.

An act 309 inmate prepares the food for those incarcerated at the Nevada County jail. He said in many cases the inmates are given more than the daily requirement.

Depending on the food item, serving size will vary. The 309 said usually the regulations call for a serving of 3/4 of a cup, but the inmates tend to get a cup or more.

A typical breakfast for those housed in the jail consists of toast, eggs and milk. Other items served include oatmeal, hash brown potatoes, sausage, grits, biscuits, cinnamon rolls and cereal.

The lunch menu is also varied and includes servings of greens, peas, cornbread, hot dogs, beans, green beans, chicken patties, spaghetti, sandwiches, soups, tuna and fish.

Dinners are similar to lunches served at the jail.

The gripes about meals being prepared in unsanitary conditions are also unfounded, he said. The kitchen area is kept clean.

The cook, who is basically on loan from the state prison, said those who are sent to the penitentiary will find out what bad food is.

There, he said, they may get a plate of greens with dirt on them, and they have no one to complain to.

The choices are to eat what's there or go hungry.

Another complaint was about time spent outside. It was levied inmates are only allowed to go outdoors once a month.

This, Otwell said, just isn't true. Inmates are allowed outside for one hour daily when possible and weather conditions allow.

There are times, he said, when the staff is too busy to let the prisoners out, but this is made up later.

Additionally, he said, the inmate population can't be mixed. This means those being held for misdemeanors can't be let out with those in for felonies. Women, needless to say, can't be let outside the same time as men, for obvious reasons.

There were also gripes about personal clothing and shoes. Inmates, Otwell said, are not allowed to have any items of personal clothing, other than two pairs of socks and two pairs of underwear, when they are incarcerated.

It was also said inmates aren't allowed to change clothes daily and have to wear the jail uniforms for 10 days to two weeks.

Their street shoes are also taken. If an inmate has family or friends who will bring them sandals or house shoes, these will be allowed in the cells.

The jail-issued clothing black and white striped shirts and pants is washed regularly downstairs behind the kitchen area.

Inmates are allowed to change every other day, but, Otwell said, there are some who refuse to change when they have the chance.

It was also said the prisoners heads are about six inches away from the toilets in the cells.

But, Otwell said, all they have to do is turn around, and put their head at the other end of the cot.

On the topic of cleanliness of the cells, Otwell said the inmates are provided with bleach and cleaning supplies. They are responsible for keeping their cells clean.

Trusties and 309 inmates keep the walk-around swept and mopped.

On the footwear issue, Otwell said the county did, once, provide foot covering for the inmates. However, the "shoes" provided were destroyed in short order.

The complaints about medical attention being denied, are also unfounded, the sheriff said.

When an inmate claims to be ill, he said, the Nevada County Ambulance Service is called and a paramedic dispatched to the jail.

Should the paramedic determine the situation is not an emergency, the inmate will be put back in their cell and an appointment made with Dr. Mike Young the next morning.

Otwell said those being held by the county aren't being kept at a resort, but are in jail a detention facility.

All the county is responsible for concerning the inmates, he said, is detaining them. The state operates the correctional facilities.

He said the Nevada County jail is inspected every year and has continually passed. Otherwise, the state would require the county to build a new jail at the taxpayers' expense.

When the prisoners misbehave or are destructive, he said, they lose privileges such as television and tobacco products.

Such is the case with the shower drain being plugged with a shampoo bottle. Otwell said this section will not get to watch TV until the perpetrator comes forth.

"If you stay at a motel," he said, "and it's not up to your standards, you have a right to complain because you're paying for it.

"Here, the taxpayers are paying the bills, and we're not running a motel and restaurant.

"If a person commits a criminal offense they should be aware of the possible consequences, including being locked up.

"People in general are tired of criminals being sent to jail and getting a better life than they had on the outside."

Otwell said jail is not a place anyone should want to go to, and it shouldn't be a nice place to be. Jail, he added, is where criminals are kept.

People shouldn't go to jail with the attitude their lifestyles aren't going to be altered, he said.

"We try to run this facility as a jail, but I won't tolerate anyone being abused, neglected or mistreated. But it's not a pleasant place to stay. What they did was wrong and they should leave here with the impression they don't want to come back.

"If they do, then I feel I've done my job. They fail to understand if they are so unhappy serving time here because of the conditions and treatment, they are the ones who can do something about it. If it's so bad here, why do they keep coming back."

A tour of the jail showed it to be exactly what it is a detention facility, a place to house those who have decided not to abide by the laws of society and keep them away from those who do.

Yes, the cells are small, but they do meet jail standard requirements.

The showers are small and rusty, but they are also old. Replacing them could be done at great expense to the county.

Some of the cells upstairs are neater than others, but this gets back to the individuals being housed there. They are the ones responsible for keeping them clean just as they would a house or apartment they lived in.

During the tour, an item of contraband was discovered in the shower examined photos of nude women. This was reported to the proper authorities to handle.

Otwell was blatantly frank about some of the goings on at the jail.

At one time, he said, an inmate was to be transferred to the state prison. His girlfriend made arrangements with a trusty to get in and have one last fling with her boyfriend.

The agreement included a cash payment and the performance of a certain act upon the trusty who, when it was discovered, lost his position and was placed back in the general population.