Clinch County Sheriff Winston Peterson is accused of perjury, obstruction of justice, using forced labor and extortion of inmates.
Investigators say the sheriff charged jail inmates $18 per day for room and board. County officials agreed in April 2006 to return $27,000 to hundreds of inmates who paid the fees between 2000 and Peterson also used an inmate to do work at a business run by his wife, investigators say.
Peterson is the latest Clinch County official to be caught up in investigations into the rural county's practices.
You can read more here.
Some questions:
-Is the issue of "small town" justice more pervasive than we care to admit?
-What are your thoughts on charging inmates (or inmates' families) with their room and board?
-Is lady justice truly blind or are the scales tipped in favor of "the good old boy" mentality?
-If Peterson is found guilty, what do you think his punishment should be?
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