Florida sheriff takes away free underwear from inmates, holds presser about it.

[madfloridian]

Fox News covered it, trying not to laugh. Tampa's Channel 10 news anchor did really chuckle a little.

Judd is known for his appearance on the media, but this is really weird. He is the hardline Christian sheriff who also took away the basketball hoops from the inmates and gave them to churches.

Here is the article and video about the underwear being taken away.

Free underwear stripped from Polk jail.

BARTOW - In what he calls a cost saving measure, Sheriff Grady Judd is stripping his county jail inmates of their free underwear.

"There is no state law or federal law that says we have to provide underwear in county jail, so they'll just be free spirits," he said.

Peeling away the underwear is part of the sheriff's plan to cut his budget. This year's is down $3.8 million from last year's. He says saving underwear saves about $45,000 a year.

...""We're not going to let them pick the colors. We'll give them any color they want as long as it's white," Judd said. "For those who want underwear, they can buy underwear. For those who don't, they can let the breeze blow up one leg and down the other," he added.

Grady Judd is the sheriff who had enough money to send 10 to 15 officers and squad cars to arrest a woman for making sex noises in her own home. A woman who has a history of suing him for taking public property and giving it to churches. Plenty of money to arrest atheists who displease him.

Florida woman jailed for making sex noises.

Wachs, who lives in a gated community just outside Lakeland city limits,
was arrested March 3 in what she termed a surprise raid on her home. She
was charged by State Attorney Jerry Hill's office with practicing law
without a license, a charge Wachs emphatically denies.

"They knocked on the door and asked me to step outside," said Wachs, who
said she did as requested. "They told me I was under arrest." When she
asked what was she being charged with, it was then she learned she was
being arrested for illegally posing as an attorney.

The ferocity of her arrest caught her off-guard, she said. She estimated
there were anywhere from 10-15 officers and a similar number of squad cars.

"Some (law enforcement officials) were in civilian clothes, some in
uniforms," she said. "The street was lined with patrol cars." Wachs
added the uniformed officers were bedecked in SWAT-style regalia instead
of standard uniforms.

Oh, and don't miss the video from Ch. 10 News. Reginald Roundtree couldn't keep a straight face.

Video of Grady Judd and underwear project

Ellenbeth Wachs is now filing a lawsuit against Judd claiming harassment.

Even a sheriff who loves media coverage is getting desperate to hold such a press conference about inmates' underwear.

[madfloridian]

1. Oh, btw, they kept Ellenbeth Wachs in isolation for 6 days.

Just for yelling Oh John Oh John.

[marmar]

2. Jeezus. This country is one big looney bin.

nt

[madfloridian]

3. Yes, it is.

:hi:

[ejpoeta]

4. well, if she was posing as an attorney, she would have known not to go outside.

i'm not saying she was doing that btw... i am saying that if she WERE, she would have KNOWN not to leave the house where they then arrested her for no apparent reason. i hope she wins her lawsuit. it sounds like she was arrested for no reason.

[madfloridian]

6. She wasn't.

Posing as an attorney. She IS an attorney who simply used the word esq. Yes, she was arrested because she annoyed the hell of the Christian community here for being an atheist.

[ejpoeta]

9. I was kind of being sarcastic. IT sounded like they had no grounds to arrest her.

And I hope she takes them to the cleaners. I guess that pun was intended considering the underwear thing.

[madfloridian]

11. I knew what you meant. He's becoming a laughing stock....

with everyone but the teaparty people. They love his antics.

[Dappleganger]

7. Oh she was arrested for a reason alright.

She was arrested because they have a vendetta against her for being an atheist who knows her rights.

[Dappleganger]

5. I'm sure the jail doctor is gonna love...

treating all the new cases of crotch rot in the next few months.

[atreides1]

10. Watch

He'll get rid of the doctor and hire a part time nurse next...and call another press conference to say how much money he'll save.

[atreides1]

8. Another Arpaio

Making cuts to save money, but no one seems to know where that money is, except the asshole with the badge...and I'll bet he's not telling!!!

[Cereal Kyller]

30. Sherriff Joe should sue!

Doesn't he have a trademark on Stupidity In Law Enforcement? :rofl:

[awoke_in_2003]

56. "Stupidity In Law Enforcement?"

Kind of hard to trademark something that is so wide spread :)

[jmowreader]

12. Please tell me, what is it about dickhead sheriffs and underwear?

You have Arpaio and his pink undies, this asshat and his no undies (I assume you can't bring any from home if you know you're going to the slammer) and I think Gerald Hege also had some underwear issues.

[madfloridian]

31. At least he is giving them white ones.

Not familiar with Hege?

[jmowreader]

34. Gerald Hege was the sheriff of Davidson County, NC

He was the last self-proclaimed "America's Toughest Sheriff" before Arpaio--I think he wrested the title from him. This is the guy who dressed all his deputies in black BDUs, had "no deals" license plates put on the front of his patrol cars, and carried a German submachinegun as a duty weapon rather than a pistol. He also forced Davidson County to self-insure its fleet because Hege had him an Impala with a black widow spider painted on the hood, nitrous oxide and a Richard Childress Racing engine...and their insurance carrier declared breach of contract after Hege went public with the news he had, on several occasions, driven the car at speeds in excess of 140MPH down Interstate 40--just for the hell of it. He kept eight Klan uniforms he'd taken from people who he'd supposedly convinced to change their ways in his office--on display--and he was running one of these "jail is not a happy fun place" gulags, complete with chain gangs and striped uniforms.

He was another one of those showboat sheriffs. He had him a television show. Sold things for charity like diecast Sheriff Hege Patrol Cars and "barbecue dip." Said the good sheriff, if you call it barbecue sauce you're not from around here. (And while he was sheriff, a lot of decent Carolinians probably wished they weren't from around here.) He also painted the jail bright pink and put little pictures of teddy bears all over in it.

Hege was busted for felony level corruption and placed on two years' house arrest. Ankle bracelet and everything. After he was released he started running for sheriff of Davidson County again. He did it at least once, and was planning to do it again before the NC legislature wrote a bill of attainder amending the state constitution to prohibit convicted felons from serving as sheriffs in North Carolina. (North Carolina's constitution is itself unconstitutional; there is a clause requiring all officeholders in NC to believe in God. So them sticking something in there specifically to stop Gerald Hege isn't that big of a stretch.)

Oh, and it's pronounced "hedge."

[madfloridian]

39. Wow, thanks. Interesting look at the apparently "new normal" ...

in law enforcement. :scared:

[trud]

46. house arrest, how disappointing. n/t

[right2bfree]

50. I LOVE that! As a FELON he cant own a firearm. Makes my day !! :-)

[classysassy]

13. Joe and the Judd's

Here in Arizona we had a Sheriff Judd( Cochise county),we also have a doozy up in Phoenix,the pink under wear sheriff,next county over (Pinal) there is another looney toon Sheriff Babeau.All of the clown sheriffs are a carbon copy of the Jackie Gleason character Beauford Justice .

[madfloridian]

14. Ha Ha Beauford Justice.....Love it.

I loved Jackie Gleason in that role.

[PSzymeczek]

44. I remember Jimmy Judd.

Larry Dever isn't any better.

[awoke_in_2003]

57. put the evidence in the car...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9slc1bL8c1c

[GoneOffShore]

15. Calling Carl Hiassen! - There's a novel here.

Florida: one of the weirder places.

Right up there with Orange County, and parts of New Hampshire and Alabama.

[Dappleganger]

18. That would be awesome...

I would so read that!

[madfloridian]

42. You know I thought Hiaasen had mentioned him before....but I can't find it now.

I will keep looking.

[madfloridian]

16. Do not miss the Ch. 10 video....link.

http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1055059985001

It's just funny.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

17. He just wants to keep 'em off skid row.

:rofl:

Goin' commando.

[SmileyRose]

19. I know how he can save a boatload of money

get the law changed so they aren't throwing people in jail for being poor or addicted.

Less inmates = less spending.

[joshcryer]

24. A sheriff should have the power to compell a release program (non-violent offenders and the like).

Probably could save more by pulling strings in that vein.

[joshcryer]

20. Fine by me.

;)

[sudopod]

22. ,

[joshcryer]

23. Actually, $2.50 for a pair of underwear is pretty ridiculous, but otherwise, yeah. :P

Stupid commissary prices are criminal in and of themselves.

[Incitatus]

26. Yes, because if someone is convicted of a crime they are not human and desevce no respect.

I'm sure this is also fine with most FREEPERS.

[joshcryer]

29. It was a statement about letting it hang loose, free ballin', etc, etc, etc.

I was joking. See my other comment about the cost. They should be a dollar at most.

[The Hitman]

21. What about Mormon prisoners?

Can they still have their special underwear?

[madfloridian]

25. More from the Tampa Tribune.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2011/jul/15/menewso1-polk-sheriff-wont-cover-inmate-undies-ar-244050/

"He changed the menu at Polk County's jail, directing cooks to dish up less-expensive food. He banned basketball, ordering inmates to uproot the jail's hoops. And he changed the jail's TV options to favor educational viewing rather than sports and violent programming.

Now Polk Sheriff Grady Judd is taking on skivvies. His latest cost-saving measure: stop providing free underwear to male inmates.

"There's no state law; there's no federal law that says we have to provide underwear in the county jail," Judd said."

..."Don Leach, former vice president of the American Jail Association, said he is aware of other jails that don't issue free underwear to inmates.

"Inmates don't have a constitutional right to underwear," he said. "It's well within the discretion of the sheriff to not provide inmates with the undergarments. Of course, from the other side of it, he (Judd) might have to increase his laundry cycle to cut down on unhygienic practices because you don't want inmates walking around with soiled clothing on."

[Manifestor_of_Light]

28. What about women inmates and heavy bleeding each month into their clothes?

Wouldn't that make a huge dangerously unsanitary mess? Or is this just to air out the guys' bollocks??

I've read about women inmates that get ONE pad a day which doesn't catch all the bleeding even in a normal period.

Lots of civil rights violations going on there.

[jmowreader]

35. This is only for men's underwear

[The Flaming Red Head]

59. Commissary is a ripoff, almost bankrupting families trying to help

Here (the area I live in) they have the guys (18 to 24 year olds is the average) on a 1200 calorie a day diet at the county jail. Most men grow well into their early 20s, so clearly that’s not enough to maintain them. The only choice we had was to help him buy food from commissary because 1200 kcals is a weight loss diet. Commissary is ridiculously expensive and every time we tried to put in money so he could eat they’d withdraw up to 60% for so-called medical expenses (usually a 600 mg IB and virtually no antibiotics) and with staph running rampant at the place (the prisoners have to buy their own soap, shampoo, and toothpaste) and poor nutrition none of the guys are very healthy.

Our current jail reminds me of scenes from a Dickens Novel. Dickens actually toured our new <19th century> jails on his visit to the states, he was impressed by the cleanliness and the attitude towards reform, now our modern jails are very like the ones of his day in his country. If your family has the money to pay for it you get along a lot better and have access to healthcare, food and everything else you need. Our jails are becoming very much like the prisons of the victorian era, now.

[BeFree]

27. Maybe we should raise money for an underwear fund?

Or, how about we all mail a pair of underwear to the sheriff?

[NightWatcher]

32. wanna save money? stop arresting small time pot smokers

then you wont have to pay for meals, housing, or even underwear.

[madfloridian]

33. Judd plans to cut costs by sending juveniles to the jail instead of detention center

set up for juveniles.

It is setting up a scary scenario that could go statewide with new laws being passed. Thank Katherine Harris' cousin, J. D. Alexander for this one.

http://www.newschief.com/article/20110622/NEWS/106225014/1021/news01?p=all&tc=pgall

"Juveniles from Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties are housed in the Polk Regional Juvenile Detention Center, which last week held 72 children. Under plans still being drafted, Polk's share of the children would be moved to the Central County Jail in Bartow.

Judd estimates the Polk County Jail would take on 50 to 60 children from the state.

The impending shuffle of children between state and county facilities follows the passage of a bill Judd urged state Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, to sponsor this past legislative session. It opens the door to any county that can meet certain standards to take control of its own juvenile detention.

The state charges the county about $237 a day for each juvenile it holds in pretrial detention, Judd said. The state picks up the cost for housing them after their cases are complete. The cost for housing the juveniles was expected to increase $50 per child this year, Judd said, which spurred him to advocate changing state law."

[FLAprogressive]

36. Grady Judd is the biggest media whore fascist in the state and is a Sheriff Joe-wannabe.

[PSzymeczek]

45. I'd be interested in knowing

if he is related to the eastern Arizona Judds.

[butterfly77]

37. He says he wants to save money so...

he should not pay for uniforms either.

[fascisthunter]

38. I'm Starting to Wonder if there is too much Sun beating down on Heads in FL

[MrScorpio]

40. An Arpaio of the East

Another clown in uniform

[madfloridian]

41. He is becoming a joke.

:hi:

[FLAprogressive]

48. Haha, "becoming"?

:P

[Fuddnik]

49. Unfortunately, we in Florida keep re-electing jokes.

The guy is a complete asshole, which pretty much guarantees re-election in Polk County.

[russspeakeasy]

43. Real tough guy. Eventually, hopefully, he and his ilk end up on the shitty

end of the stick..."They've been sentenced, now lets see how miserable we can make their lives."
I knew some guys in the service like that.

[Occulus]

47. I've 'gone commando' before.

It's not that big a deal, really.

Underwear doesn't always help, anyway. Sometimes you'll just get an eyeful; it's how we're built. Sorry about that.

[Baby Bear]

51. Not Unusual

In Georgia jails, prisoners must pay for their "whites," I am told. If they are indigent, they depend on family or friends to chip in.

[jeepnstein]

52. True.

It sucks being in jail. Let them buy their whites out of commissary.

[saorsa]

53. Thanks for this, I did not know about this,

would like to do anything to spread the word, not to embarrass this wank, ( obviously not possible) but to spread the word about how inmates are used & abused for self-promotion, and the spread of this kind of diseased behavior by poisoned minds in positions of power.

[madfloridian]

55. It is part of the right wing tactics of humiliation.

[KurtNYC]

58. Maybe he is not Christian but rather an Underpants Gnome

Phase 1: collect underpants Phase 2: ? Phase 3: profit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBiSI6OdqvA


Really, I think it is just posturing, plays well to their base meaningless in terms of money or budgets. Same for the GOP push back on the light bulb ban, empty posturing.

[OmahaBlueDog]

54. So when we're spending an average of $100 per prisoner on doctors and jock itch meds....

...some bright person will wonder aloud "why didn't we just go buy some Jockey shorts 8 packs at Walmart for $5 each - problem solved!"

[blackspade]

60. asshole is as asshole does.

And here I thought KY was bad....

[rustydog]

61. Poor little man....I bet he got a hard one when he announced this