Posted: Wednesday, 03 February 2010 6:18PM
Reporter's Notes: Conversation with Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy
"Snip" TJ Hart
http://www.thesky973.com/pages/6279996.php
TJ: Good afternoon, Sheriff Hardy. Thank you for taking time out of your day to speak with me.
JH: Not a problem.
TJ: First year as a Sheriff...a lot of challenges including the disapperance of Haleigh Cummings. Any light at the end of the tunnel as far as a resolution in this investigation.
JH: This is an ongoing investigation.
TJ: Are we still looking for a live child? Some have stated that the Putnam County Sheriff's Office is looking for either a live child or possibly a dead child, but prefers to think the child is alive.
JH: Don't you want us to find a live child?
TJ: Yes! Who wouldn't?
JH: I believe we are looking for a live child, but we--like the families--are prepared to for a real possibility that she might not be alive.
TJ: Where is Ronald Cummings being held in the Putnam County Jail?
JH: He is in solitary confinement.
TJ: What is it like? All I know about solitary is what I've seen in those old prison movies from the 1940's.
JH: He has a small cot and a toilet.
TJ: A cot and a pot?
JH: You could say that.
TJ: How has this case affected your detectives and other deputies working the case?
JH: It has been very intense. Some of our officers have had to be pulled off the case from time-to-time due to exhaustion. Losing this child has been like losing one of our own children.
TJ: I want to ask you a few things about your jail....
JH: Excellent questions...
TJ: It is common knowledge around here that the jail is overcrowded. It's a facility built to house about 236 inmates and at last count, you have 360 behind bars there!
JH: I knew about this problem coming into office. It's been talked about for nearly a decade and now it's time for some meaningful action. Just this past year we've had a jail break where two escapees killed an innocent woman. Later, we had an inmate shot and killed trying to escape. Our inmate to officer ratio is too high--officers get hurt... We need about 29 more jail personnel.
TJ: How much worse does it need to get?
JH: We have the lowest bond schedules in the state. We are backed up on warrants served due to the over crowding at the jail.
TJ: Isn't the jail facing the very real possibility of being shut down by the feds due to overcrowding? It has happened before in other places, correct?
JH: I think it could happen. It's frustrating....my job is to catch bad guys and get them off the street and housed safely away from our citizens--that's what I was elected to do!
TJ: What action steps are you taking to remedy this problem?
JH: I plan on meeting with the County Manager and the County Commission shortly. We need to take actions to expedite the judicial process. This ISN'T a catch a release program!