Tax Group Calls for Investigation

Lithia Springs GA: Douglas County Taxpayers Coalition has leaned through an open records request that Sheriff Phil Miller has never made a written request to transfer state inmates from the county jail in 2009.

An open records request was made to the legal department of the Georgia Department of Corrections (DOC) for any correspondences from Sheriff Miller or his staff to the Department of Corrections concerning transfer of state inmates from the Douglas County jail, in 2009. According to a reply from Rhoda S. McCabe, Senior Assistant Counsel, “The Department has no records responsive to this request.”

“Included in your request were the following records; to wit, 2009 correspondence from Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller or his staff concerning the emergency transfer of state inmates from the Douglas County Jail, including correspondence with the Commissioner of Corrections; and (2) 2009 correspondence with the Douglas County Sheriff's Department concerning overcrowded conditions at the Douglas County Jail.” RSM

For the past 5 years Sheriff Miller has claimed there is an emergency situation at the jail due to overcrowding because the Department of Corrections will not pick up their inmates. There are no records from the sheriff’s office or DOC concerning an emergency situation or any request to remove the state inmates. According to GBI reports, there have been between 100-200 convicted state prisoners in the county jail on any given day.

James Bell, director of the Douglas County Taxpayers Coalition (DCTC) said the sheriff is deliberately housing state inmates to make the jail appear to be over capacity.

“We are calling for a state and federal investigation into this matter”, Bell said. “If there is an emergency at the jail there should be some documentation concerning this emergency, especially when there are claims of potential federal court intervention”, Bell continued.

Chief Deputy Stan Copeland stated that the sheriff’s office is not allowed to make written request for the transfer of state inmates.

Bell said he believes the Sheriff has used state inmates to full-up the county jail in an attempt to justify a proposed $150 million prison SPLOST/Bond on the November 3 ballot.

According to GBI reports, the sheriff changed the capacity number of the jail from 811 to 485. Bell said it appears this was an attempt to trick voters to believe the jail is over capacity.

“If there was an emergency and safety concerns (at the jail) why is there no documentation by his staff or the Department of Corrections concerning this matter”, Bell asked. “This is nothing but a hoax”.