Councilmen open mind to pay for inmate labor

A committee of the Oconee County Council exhibited an open mind to the idea of paying inmates for labor while they serve their sentences.  Sheriff Mike Crenshaw last night brought the idea to the council’s law enforcement committee which, in turn, requested Crenshaw do more research before a vote by the full county council.  But committee chairman Wayne McCall and committee members Reg Dexter and Joel Thrift see the potential for benefits.  The opportunity for inmates to earn a small wage would be extended only to state inmates identified as those with work skills.  Crenshaw said other conditions must be met, including the permission of the inmate and the permission of the victim of the inmate’s crime.  The sheriff gave the committee a list of what other county penal facilities pay inmates.  The pay ranges from as low as one dollar a day to four dollars a day.  But the disparity in the remuneration concerns Councilman Thrift.  He would like to see set a standard pay rate to eliminate skilled prison labor from moving from one county to another.  Chairman McCall spoke highly of the expertise that some prisoners can offer.  He said inmates who helped re-open the Walhalla Pool provided valuable expertise and the experience of working while doing time can help the prisoner re-adjust to life after prison.