This is an interesting followup piece of the publication that broke the original story:

https://www.al.com/news/2018/12/heres-how-federal-inmates-made-an-alabama-sheriff-15-million.html

Some noteworthy pieces of information imho:

• The total sum “leftover” after underfeeding and badly feeding was in the millions.
• Keeping the Alabama “leftover” money was legal under state laws, for some crazy reason.
• They also had a federal contract to keep ICE prisoners, and got federal money for that, which they did not treat separately from the Alabama money.
• Another Republican (Jonathon Horton) unseated that swine Todd Entrekin in their primaries two to one.

Then in 2019 the food account was finally made into a public one by the state legislature, 25% of it could still be misappropriated to other law enforcement activity though. Then in 2020 the was a referendum in Etowah county to make that percentage 100%, but I can’t find out how it went in the end. The Gadsen Times are blocked for European readers.

https://www.al.com/news/2020/03/voters-in-2-alabama-counties-to-consider-jail-inmate-food-funds.html

If I remember right, this wasn’t even illegal. A lot of places in the US still have this ancient (and fucking ridiculous even back when it was new) rule that the sheriff gets to pocket any leftover cash from the prisoner care budget.

Yeah, anyways this is usually the reason behind it whenever you read anything about prisoners being fed roadkill or spoiled food or whatever. Ancient, incredibly brazen corruption.

ACAB.

Ah okay, this is the 2018 story. I read the headline and was like “Again!?”

God damn this is some brazen corruption…