Mowing lawns in the middle of summer and mopping floors in the dead of winter might not sound like jobs to relish.

But for inmate trusties, it’s a breath of fresh air.

The Adams County jail has a program in which trustworthy inmates, or trusties, can work for the county. Inmates have to prove themselves by good behavior before they are chosen to be trustees.

By state law, they can’t get paid, but they get other perks. They get to sleep in dorm-like rooms rather than in cells, and they get luxuries like televisions.

More than anything, they get to move around.

“It’s way better than being on the block,” said Josh, who has served a year in the jail. “It’s showing these people I want to get out.”

Besides allowing them to stretch their legs, the program requires that for every day a county inmate works as a trustie, he get a day off his sentence.

“It also looks good for us when we go to court,” Josh said. “It shows we’re willing to work and do better when we get out.”

All in a day’s work

A typical day for the usual eight to 12 Adams County trusties is starting work at 5 a.m. Depending on their skills, trusties wash deputies’ cars, cook for other inmates, do electrical work and cut grass, among other things.

“It helps clear your mind,” said Ronald, who has been in the jail for about five months. “It keeps your mind occupied.”

Maj. Charles Harrigill has been in charge of the jail for the past three years. The program gives people a second chance, he said.

For example, once they’ve served their time, the program helps trustees find employment.

“Most of these guys are in here for drug arrests,” he said. “That makes it hard for them to find jobs, and this helps give people another chance. And there are better ways to handle some (cases) than incarceration.”

While the jail houses some state inmates, state trusties aren’t allowed outside the jail.

The sheriff’s office also has an agreement with the correctional facility in Fayette. Sheriff’s employees supervise groups of Fayette inmates who pick up trash along the highways. They’ve done such a good job that the roads even won a statewide cleanliness award.

“They were a big help removing trees after (Hurricane) Katrina hit,” Harrigill said.

Supervisors President Darryl Grennell said he thought the trustie program was beneficial to everyone involved.

“I think it’s very good for the county,” Grennell said.

A major achievement was using trusties to clean up the historic Watkins Street Cemetery, he said. They cleared away vegetation that was crowding the markers.

“They spent several months completely clearing it,” he said. “It is a beautiful place now, almost like a park.”

Across the river, Concordia Parish Correctional Facility has many more inmates, more trusties and a different program.

Services

In Concordia Parish, the sheriff’s office uses a volunteer trustie program to run day-to-day operations within the parish.

Russell Butler is the warden for the Concordia Parish Correctional Facility in Ferriday.

Butler said he thinks people sometimes have a misconception about how inmates spend their time in jail.

“People think they just come into this place and never move,” Butler said. “That’s not true. Not here. If they’re not working on one of those things on this list they’re cleaning up around here or they’re going to school.”

Butler said the facility offers inmates a chance to earn their General Equivalency Degree, and a few college courses.

The list Butler refers to is a list of services the inmates at the facility provide for the parish and the facility.

The list includes five services, including trash pick-up and mowing along parish and city roads and any work needed by Vidalia and Ferriday or the CPSO Feed the Hungry program.

It also includes 11 duties inmates can perform to help facility operations like laundry, kitchen crew and the automobile crew that maintains and repairs all city and parish vehicles.

According to the list, two crews of 12 inmates pick up trash 10 hours a day, 200 days per year.

A crew of nine inmates mows grass within the parish 12 hours a day, 200 days a year.

According to the list, the parish saves $2,612,600 a year with the services inmates provide for the parish and the correctional facility.

Sheriff Randy Maxwell said the money is calculated at what it would cost laborers to perform the duties at $5 an hour.

“I’m a big advocate for it (the trustie program),” Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said Friday.” “It has saved the city a tremendous amount of money.”

Crews of trusties also help with special projects that occur a few days or weeks during the year such as the Jim Bowie Festival in Vidalia, the Ferriday Delta Music Festival, and setting up Christmas lights for Vidalia.

Participation

Maxwell said the trustie program is strictly on a volunteer basis.

“Nobody is forced to work,” he said.

Chief of Security Lance Moore said the first thing that happens when an inmate wants to enter the program is they are classified by charge.

“All convicts (who enter the program) are minimum security,” Moore said. “Anyone charged with a an aggravated charge such as a murder, rape, armed robbery or child molestation would never go outside of the fence.”

Next, CPSO initiates a six-point check through different departments before working.

First the shift supervisor has to approve.

“He pretty much knows them on a daily basis and knows their behavior so he could deny them right off the bat if they have a disciplinary or medical problem,” Moore said.

Second, an inmate must be approved by the booking department, that review an inmate’s record and check information that may not qualify them like “detainers” (open charges or parole holds in other parishes), Moore said.

Inmates’ medical records are also reviewed to make sure they do not have any conditions that might prohibit them from working.

Moore then reviews the records again to make sure any charges were not overlooked and finally Butler approves the inmates.

“It’s very repetitive for one reason,” Butler said. “It’s for the public’s protection. If we slip up and let an armed robber or murder escape, he may go out and commit the crime again and we cannot and will not tolerate that.”

Maxwell said CPSO has been very blessed never to have any major problems.

“Occasionally someone will walk off but we charge them with simple escape and they lose their trustee privileges and are not allowed to work,” he said.

At least one officer supervises a crew of trusties, sometimes two, depending on how large the crew, Butler said.

Benefits

The first and real reason for the trustie program, Maxwell said, is for the rehabilitation of the inmates.

“For the first time in their life they feel like they have some responsibility and it makes them feel like they can contribute to the parish,” he said.

Jeremy, 31, has served four months in the trustie program doing laundry for the facility.

“The laundry’s got to get done, so I feel like I’m doing something,” he said.

Jeremy was charged with simple burglary in 2004.

“It (the trustie program) gives you a positive outlook on life and on a lot of the smaller things we took for granted when we were out doing something wrong,” he said.

Howard, 40, has been a trustie for about nine months. He was arrested on drug charges in 2005.

Howard said an advantage to the trustie program is surrounding himself with positive people, like the jailers and Maxwell.

“They are great people to be around and if you surround yourself with positive people, you realize they help better you,” he said.

It has been over four months since Howard’s family last visited him, he said.

“Now everybody around here (the sheriff’s office) is like my family,” he said.

The second reason for the trustie program, Maxwell said, is the tremendous amount of money saved in the parish.

“There is a third reason,” Maxwell said. “Anybody out working is a lot easier to manage in the correction system. If they’re up at five in the morning and they work all day. When they get in, they’re tired and they go to bed. They don’t cause any problems.”

Inmate rewards

Inmates who enter the program, Maxwell said, get a few more liberties than inmates who don’t, such as more visitation rights.

Maxwell said trusties are sometimes allowed to have a picnic or barbeque at the station—“always supervised of course.”

“If they do a good job we want to give them a little incentive to keep doing a good job, he said. “You have to reward good behavior and good work ethic.”

Maxwell said good behavior in the program also helps the inmates when they are eligible for probation or parole.

“They can get a favorable report, which has a lot to do with whether they get out of jail or not,” Maxwell said.