Sheriff wants to cut inmates' wages

CONCORD (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson wants to pull the plug on using taxpayer money to pay inmates for performing menial jobs in state prisons, the only prisons that pay inmates wages for jobs like doing laundry or general maintenance.

Inmates get paid anywhere from 50 cents to $5 a day, spokeswoman Dianne Wiffin said.

"At a time when communities throughout the Commonwealth are eliminating school sports programs and our young men and women are being told there are few summer jobs available, it is both unfair and illogical to use nearly $2.5 million a year of taxpayers' money to pay inmates," Sheriff Hodgson said.

Bristol County inmates perform the same institutional jobs as inmates serving state sentences, but are not paid with taxpayers' money.

Inmates can then spend the money on anything from toothpaste and toilet paper to cookies and candy.

The sheriff said it's unreasonable for the taxpayers to pay for inmates' wages on top of the cost of prison room and board. The annual cost to Massachusetts taxpayers?

"It's about $2 million a year," Wiffin said.

Leslie Walker, executive director of prisoner legal services, says paying inmates a nominal fee for work they perform is the "American way," and teaches them responsibility. She added that people are clean and sober in prison and really want to succeed. Having them work is a good thing, Walker said.

Sharman Sacchetti will have a full report on this story on the FOX25 News at 10.