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Article published Nov 22, 2004
Upstate prosecutor to try most costly inmates
first
Associated Press
ANDERSON --A
newly elected Upstate prosecutor says she wants to try the inmates that cost the
most to keep behind bars first.Usually, prosecutors try the people who have been
in jail the longest. But Chrissy Adams, elected solicitor of the 10th Judicial
Circuit earlier this year, says her plan will save more money."It makes sense
but it has not been done," Adams said.Adams' system, thought to be the first of
its kind in South Carolina, recognizes that some inmates requiring health care
and prescription drugs can add thousands in costs to a jail's budget in a matter
of weeks.Unruly prisoners who need extra attention from guards also could be put
on a priority list."If there's two people with charges that pose the same threat
to society, we want you to deal with the case that's cost us the most," Anderson
County jail director Bob Daly said.Part of the reason a cost-based system has
not been used is because solicitors are ranked on efficiency in large part on
how old their open cases are, said Circuit Court Judge Cordell Maddox.Maddox and
another judge also will set aside special days just to hear cases of inmates at
the jail so the county can cut down inmate transportation time and
administrative delays.During a May test of the system, the two judges handled
more than 100 cases in a day, Maddox said."This is a new wave in everything," he
said.Running the jail costs $1 million more now than it did in 2000. Much of
that is caused by rising medical costs. The jail has already spent more than
half its prescription drug budget just four months into the fiscal year.Maddox
also plans to put into place a management system that put cases on "tracks" so
attorneys have less time and fewer excuses to swap documents, complete discovery
and determine whether clients should plead or go to trial.It is similar to a
system that has shortened backlogs in Richland and Greenville
counties.------
Information from: Anderson Independent-Mail,
http://www.andersonsc.com