Crime and Punishment

Conditions got so bad in the overcrowded county jail in El Paso, Texas, that U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions decided a year ago to order improvements. Little happened. A $17 million bond issue for a new jail was proposed; the voters turned it down. Then there was an attempt to rebuild part of the old jail, but that petered out amid charges that Sheriff Mike Sullivan was using construction workers to make improvements on his own home. This month, finding the jail still overcrowded. Judge Sessions declared Sheriff Sullivan and five other county officials in contempt. Instead of jailing them, however, he suspended their sentences on the condition that the population of the prison be held to no more than 500 between now and Sept. 1.

In such circumstances, a way can sometimes be found. The officials got the downtown Plaza Motor Hotel to rent nine of its ninth-floor rooms for the use of 18 prisoners--most of whom were guilty only of misdemeanors. Cost: $22.50 per prisoner per day. The county paid $17 a day per room, plus $5.50 for meals for each of the inmates. While only one of the 254-room hotel's regular customers complained about the situation, an insurance company threatened to cancel the hotel's policy. What to do? The authorities simply released 25 prisoners on personal bonds.

Still to be settled are those charges against the sheriff for misusing the construction workers. He ordered them, it is alleged, to build a cage for turtles in his fishpond.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.