Why is a grand jury asking for e-cigarettes not to be sold at the Walker County Jail anymore?
JASPER, Ala. (WIAT) — As a grand jury made the decision to indict Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith on charges of hiring uncertified personnel as deputies within his department, the group also took it on themselves to weigh in on an unrelated matter.
While going through recommendations recently compiled by the grand jury, District Attorney Bill Adair read off one particular line regarding the Walker County Jail.
'Due to the number of recent arson charges attributed to e-cigarette misuse by inmates in the Walker County Jail, e-cigarettes pose a safety risk to the staff and inmates of the Walker County Jail,' Adair said during a press conference Tuesday morning. 'The grand jury recommends that e-cigarette sales to inmates at the Walker County Jail be discontinued and a safe alternative be substituted.'
Chris Uptain, chief of the Jasper Fire & Rescue, said there have been at least two fires reported at the Walker County Jail within the last year that were caused by e-cigarettes. He didn't have a number for any fires reported last year.
On November 17, 2021, Joe Brandon Thornton escaped from the Walker County Jail after he intentionally set a blanket on fire using a vape in his cell. He was caught two days later.
Earlier this year on Jan. 21, another fire was reported at the jail. Using his personal Facebook profile, Smith said the fire was the result of a mattress that had caught on fire, although he didn't specify if it was caused by an e-cigarette.
'Many times, inmates will disassemble electrical components inside their cell to do this,' Smith wrote. 'Once the officer noticed the smoke they quickly evacuated the dorm and got all inmates to safety.'
According to The Daily Mountain Eagle, the Walker County Commission was set to take up a motion to ban e-cigarettes at county facilities, but the issue was tabled in February after Smith brought up how e-cigarette sales from inmates alone generated an estimated $20,000 per month for the department.
'The store sales pay $120,000 per year for radios for us to communicate with, because the county did not go to the digital system when everyone was supposed to go to the digital radios many years ago,' Smith said. 'The Walker County Commission did not allocate funds for those purchases in our budget. In fact, the Walker County Commission has not purchased patrol cars for the sheriff's department since 2014. Those funds are paid through the jail store.'
In the report, Smith was quoted as telling the commission that e-cigarettes had been sold at the jail for over a decade and that money generated from them went toward things like patrol cars, radios, bulletproof vests and more.
The commission eventually passed a resolution banning e-cigarettes from being smoked inside all county buildings. However, the Walker County Jail was allowed to continue selling them, as long as inmates smoked outside.
Elsewhere, e-cigarettes have presented unique problems in jail. In 2019, inmates at the Etowah County Jail used batteries and wires from e-cigarettes to burn a hole in a cell window. As a result, e-cigarettes were banned at the jail for 72 hours.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wisconsin State Troopers team up with kids for 'Cops & Bobbers' event in Marquette County
MARQUETTE CO., MI. (WFRV) – Michigan State Police troopers from the North Central Region joined local youth last week for the annual 'Cops & Bobbers' event, a community outreach program designed to foster positive relationships between law enforcement and children, while encouraging a love for fishing over crime. Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis provides details on local immigration enforcement policies According to a Facebook post from Wisconsin State Patrol, the event featured a day of casting lines, reeling in fish, and sharing laughs. Organizers say the goal is to get kids 'hooked' on fishing instead of drugs or delinquency. After what troopers jokingly called a 'reely good steak-out,' participants found a prime fishing spot that led to plenty of smiles and big catches. 'Cops & Bobbers' is part of a statewide initiative to build trust and create lasting memories with local youth. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Park Area Closed to Recover Body of Teen Who Fell Over 50-Foot Waterfall
Officials closed part of Olympic National Park in Washington State this week to recover the body of a teenager who slipped and fell over a 50-waterfall last weekend, the National Park Service said. The 18-year-old slipped on wet rocks at the top of Sol Duc Falls on Sunday afternoon, and plummeted to the bottom of the falls, witnesses told park officials. The man, whose name the authorities did not release, briefly resurfaced before disappearing beneath the water, park officials said. The park's swift water and rope rescue teams began their search immediately after the man disappeared, officials said, while another crew searched the riverbanks upstream from the trailhead. Thermal imaging was used to search the water, while drone teams from local police departments looked from above. Late on Monday, a park ranger found a submerged body pinned between the first and second falls, officials said, adding that it was 'likely that this is the visitor who fell over the falls the day before.' The park announced on Tuesday that it was closing the area around the falls as the teams prepared to recover the body. The point where the body was seen is in a slender canyon beneath the main falls, where the water gains speed. The force of the water was further strengthened, officials said, by higher temperatures, which cause rapid snowmelt and significantly high river flows. Park officials said Tuesday that they would 'begin the operation as soon as the river conditions allow for a safe and successful recovery.' They said that they were thwarted by the 50-foot cliffs, covered in algae and moss, on both sides of the area. Farther downstream, they said, there is a second waterfall, a whirlpool, and other hazards. Park officials did not offer any public updates after Tuesday, and did not respond to emails and phone messages on Friday. Olympic National Park, which preserves more than 920,000 acres on a thumb of land known as the Olympic Peninsula, is one of the largest, most remote, and least-developed protected areas in the United States.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Federal judge recuses himself days before sentencing Memphis officers accused in Tyre Nichols' death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the case against five former Memphis officers convicted in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols recused himself Friday, just days before he was supposed to hand down sentences for the men. U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris issued a one-sentence order saying he was recusing himself and returning "the matter to the Clerk for reassignment to another United States District Judge for all further proceedings.' Four of the five officers had been scheduled to be sentenced next week, the fifth on June 23. It was not immediately clear how Norris' decision would affect the case. Several motions had been filed under seal in recent days. It was not clear if any of those asked for Norris to step away from the case. It is unusual for a judge to recuse themself from a case between the trial and sentencing. The officers yanked Nichols from his car, then pepper-sprayed and hit the 29-year-old Black man with a Taser. Nichols fled, and when the five officers, who are also Black, caught up with him, they punched, kicked and hit him with a police baton. Nichols called out for his mother during the beating, which took place just steps from his home. Nichols died Jan. 10, 2023, three days later. Footage of the beating captured by a police pole camera also showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled with his injuries — video that prompted intense scrutiny of police in Memphis. The beating also sparked nationwide protests and prompted renewed calls for police reform. The five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith — were fired from the police force and indicted in state and federal court. Bean, Haley and Smith were found guilty in federal court in October of obstruction of justice through witness tampering related to an attempt to cover up the beating. The officers failed to say that they or their colleagues punched and kicked Nichols and broke Memphis Police Department rules when they did not include complete and accurate statements about what type of force they used. Bean and Smith were acquitted of more serious civil rights charges by the federal jury. Haley was found guilty of violating Nichols' civil rights by causing bodily injury and showing deliberate indifference to medical needs. He was also convicted of conspiracy to witness tamper. Bean and Smith were scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. Haley's sentencing was scheduled for Tuesday, and Martin was scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday. Mills' sentencing was set for June 23. Martin Zummach, Smith's lawyer, referred questions on Norris' recusal to the district court and the U.S. Attorney's Office on Friday. Bean, Haley and Smith were acquitted in May of all state charges, including second-degree murder. The jury for the state trial was chosen in majority-white Hamilton County, which includes Chattanooga, after Judge James Jones Jr. ordered the case be heard from people outside of Shelby County, which includes the majority-Black Memphis. The officers' lawyers had argued that intense publicity made seating a fair jury difficult. Martin and Mills pleaded guilty in federal court last year to violating Nichols' civil rights by causing death and conspiracy to witness tamper. They did not stand trial in federal court with their former colleagues. Martin and Mills also avoided the trial in state court after reaching agreements to plead guilty there. Both Martin and Mills testified in the federal trial, and Mills also took the stand in the state trial. The officers were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that was disbanded weeks after Nichols died. The team targeted illegal drugs and guns, and violent offenders, and sometimes used force against unarmed people. In December, the U.S. Justice Department said a 17-month investigation showed the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people. The investigation also found that the Memphis Police Department conducts unlawful stops, searches, and arrests. In May, the Trump administration announced it was retracting the findings of Justice Department civil rights investigations of police departments, including Memphis, that were issued under the Biden administration. The city has hired a former federal judge and created a task force to address police department reforms. The task force has not announced any recommendations. Nichols' family is suing the five officers, the city of Memphis and the police chief for $550 million. A trial has been scheduled in that case next year. Norris is the judge presiding over that case too. Court records in the lawsuit did not show any order of recusal Friday.
