Friday, February 24, 1978
University Daily Kansan
9
Sheriff says honor camp will be a burden on county
By LUCY SMITH
Staff Writer
Rex Johnson, Douglas County sheriff, is concerned about problems the proposed prison honor camp near Clinton Lake could cause his department.
After Johnson talked with sheffords from counties where prison honor camps have existed, he said, "I am concerned primarily about inmates walking away from the camp."
Johnson's department would be responsible for finding walkaway who would then be prosecuted through the county court.
Consequently, Johnson said, "The camp would be another burden on the county."
A BILL that would establish four honor camps in Kansas is currently being considered in the House Ways and Means Committee. One camp now exists in the state near Toronto Reservoir in Woodson County.
Johnson said he thought the state was passing its responsibility to the local enforcement agencies when honor camps were established.
He said an honor camp program was needed, but neither of them have the training. Clarkon Reserve
He also expressed concern over the number of college women who would be visiting the lake, causing sex to be a temptation to inmates working nearby.
JOHNSON said several honor camps in the state had been unsuccessful.
Frank Benington, sheriff of Woodson County, where the Toronto honor camp was established in 1965, said the biggest problem with the camp was the lack of volunteers who walked away from the camp.
"One year we had 12 walkaways," Ben-
benton said.
Harold Lusk, former sheriff of Osage County, where the Pomona honor camp was located from 1965 until it was moved 1970 to Perry Reservoir, said, "The camp created lots of problems as far as I am concerned. The problem I had was the fact people took off and walked away. I'd have to go run in Colorado or California or somewhere."
"IN COURT we went to trial to determine if they had escaped. That was obvious."
Lusk said it if it was determined that an inmate had escaped from the camp, he thought the escape would merely be sent back to the camp. Consequently, Lusk said, an inmate who walked away had nothing to lose by doing so.
Wayne Anderson, a former sheriff of Riley County, where an honor camp was located at Tuttle Creek from 1962 until 1975, said inmates would walk away from three to eight times a year, and they often left in groups of two or more.
ANDERSON said the sheriff's department was responsible for filling the arrest warrants and finding inmates who walked away from the camp.
Lusk and Anderson said it was a burden on the county when an inmate walked away from the camp, because of the manpower required to conduct the trial cost after an inmate had been caught.
CARL EISENHOWER, Jefferson County sheriff, who an honor camp was located at Perry Lake from 1970 to 1974, said the camp seemed to be one of the better camps in the state because it had no walkaacks or serious problems.
Bennington said that sometimes inmates got "wild streaks" shortly before their release.
Anderson said inmates sometimes would break into people's homes to steal clothing so they would not be immediately identified as inmates. They also stole state-owned vehicles that they had been entrusted to use for work details.
ANDERSON SAID inmates in the camp at Turtle Creek had included murders, paroles and kidnappings.
"There was a lot of concern about the type of people with serious charges in the camp."
Bennington said the citizens at Toronto had had trouble growing accustomed to the
'THEY ARE a little heasant. They fear for their safety, that some might go out at it.'
Bennington also said the selection of prospective inmates wasn't the best.
"There was a little of everything in the park, from major crimes on down, and there was a lot of it."
We're reporting that Bennington said there were discipline
problems at Toronto. He said his department was called in last year when a guard was beaten with a baseball bat. Honor camp guards are not armed.
BENNINGTON said that a tavern which once operated a few blocks from the honor camp had been a problem because the inmates would violate curfew at night and go
Anderson said inmates were brought to the jail when discipline problems developed in the prison.
"You could count on it happening every month or six weeks." he said.
Lusk recalled an incident in which an inmate was brought to the county jail for protection after other inmates had thrown a bottle of alcohol lighter liquid on the man and set him on fire.
LUSK SAID the inmate had been a problem in the state penitentiary and was transferred to prison.
A special service will be held Saturday evening prior to the internment at the SAE house.
FRATERNITY MOURNS PASSING OF BROTHER,PADDY MURPHY, DOG FINDS BODY.
On this day a dark shadow has fallen on the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house, Paddy Murphy, missing since December 5th, was discovered dead late last night by Amos. Amos, the house dog and part-time blood hound, ferreted out the body on the house study hall where it had been for some time. Authorities have piece together that Paddy expired while trying to quaff the latter half of a gallon jar of vanilla extract. Medical reports filed today and with the Chickasha County Coroners office indicate that the cause of death was compound disorders of the kidneys, liver, and the circulatory system, brought on by years of massive over consumption of alcohol. The $27.76 reward has been donated to the institute for the morally handicapped.
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Bennington said that on one occasion honor camp inmates being held in the county jail had sawed their way out, but later they were recaptured.
Bennington said the camp had some merit
but inmate selection for the camp should have been done more carefully.
"It's got its good points. It's a good thing for non-hardened criminals not to be behind walls. They do some good round the lake. There's no doubt about it," he said.
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