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Update: Century Man’s 10 Recent Arrests Have Cost Taxpayers Estimated $24,505
May 24, 2010
The Century man that has been arrested at least 10 times since last year has cost taxpayers nearly $25,000.
This is an update to a story we first brought you on Thursday.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office records indicate that Ronald Berlan Newton, 49, has spent 377 days in the Escambia County Jail since since January, 2009. In all, he has been booked into the jail 10 different times during the period on charges ranging from lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim under 18 to criminal mischief to disorderly conduct to battery.
According to Melissa Aiken Rawson, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, the average cost to house an inmate in the Escambia County Jail is $65 per day. Using that information, simple match would indicate that Newton’s 377 days have cost taxpayers $24,505 in housing costs.
“And that does not count any medical costs,” Rawson said. In general, the average medical costs per inmate in the Escambia County jail are $10 per day, but she said some inmates could have medical costs of several hundred dollars per month while other may have no medical costs and take no medications.
For our previous story about Newton, click here.
Comments
19 Responses to “Update: Century Man’s 10 Recent Arrests Have Cost Taxpayers Estimated $24,505”
REGARDING:
“. . . . they know full well that putting these people in jail does not help them it actually hurts them. The mental health system in Escambia County is beyond broken. These folks commit acts that are “illegal” but many of them really have no idea that what they are seeing or believing is out of the norm. ”
All well and good, but at some point the safety of others surely must come into consideration
The judges may have it more right than people are willing to accept. They see the mentally ill, mentally retarded, etc. every day and they know full well that putting these people in jail does not help them it actually hurts them. The mental health system in Escambia County is beyond broken. These folks commit acts that are “illegal” but many of them really have no idea that what they are seeing or believing is out of the norm. It can be quite frightening for their families when they are trying to deal with the situation and they reach out to law enforcement who in turn do what they can to defuse the situation, take them to jail or to Lakeview CSU. A coin toss most times no doubt.
Then some of you say haul them off, use the Baker Act, well fortunately the Baker Act protects everyone, it is a short term intervention. None of you would want to be put in a mental hospital and the key thrown away because someone said “lock him up”. Folks that used to happen.
It is a terrible Catch 22. Too much or too little.
Most experienced judges know this you just think they are being lenient.
schizophrenia is a terrible disease. It is considered the “thief” of youth as it generally manifests in the early 20’s. Really do you people have no empathy?
Terri Sanders why are you getting so aggressive and negative in your blogging? Why are you so angry about everything?
William why are you stoking the fires?
24,000 dollars—that is wasted every day in many ways by government. we spend many times that every time we send up a helicopter in Iraq/Afghanistan. I don’t hear any of you complaining.
An example of waste: retired men who may have served a minimum of three months or more in a branch of the military who have medicare but insist on going to the VA as well—double dipping in the taxpayers pockets. “they owe it to me” they say/ “they” are taxpayers by the way.
“handouts” happen every day in every way imaginable. This is not a handout for this man. One blogger had it right, this man should spend some time in a psychiatric hospital not jail. We are going to spend the money on somebody anyway so he might as well get treatment as opposed to being in jail where he would get no treatment for his disease.
truth,
Yumus was quoting Erin who seemed to think this was separate from the taxes we already pay for law enforcement.
Just a little confusion.
:YUMUS B KIDDING: really? YOU are going to ask “Why the heck should we have to pay for people to stay in jail? We have to pay to be safe?” Common sense should answer that itself. I have no problem paying for my safety. IT IS NOT THE POLICE’S decision to decide the fate of these people who are continually arrested and charged. That decision belongs to the Judge. And the Judge alone. Learn the legal system before you open your mouth. And if you think so negatively about police… call a crackhead to help you next time because your post incinuates they could help you better.
And Also, If he commits crimes, regarless of his mental capacity.. What eles do you want done? Do you want him left ont he street to hurt anyone else? The county(nor anyone else)has a special department or people to call out with the police because he is mental… annnndd if they did, it would probably be the tax payers that pay for them. COMMON SENSE.
REGARDING:
“. . . oh he got stupider as he got older! ”
It DOES happen.
You wouldn’t know it but I used to be smarter than the average bear. I could be wrong, but driving and drinking strike me as being smart-challenged.
Taking away one’s license indicates our forgiving government no longer thinks he has the mental capacity or at least driving skills to do so safely.
And when you consider who all IS still driving, that’s scary.
David who had to slam on brakes and cut right hard
to avoid killing someone who pulled out in my path last night
David,he had to have a drivers license before they could take them away from him.At some point he passed a test…oh he got stupider as he got older!
“Question: Why the heck should we have to pay for people to stay in jail? We have to pay to be safe? Somehow that seems a little redundant to me. Government should pay to keep us safe. In this scenario, why not just pay them when they try to rob us, shoot us, rape us, murder us, etc. and just let it end there. I’m sure the police would love that. “Oh no! No more money for Whataburger!””
You are kidding right? How is the goverment going to pay for anything without the citizens footing the bill? Do you think the Goverment works part time at McDonalds?
REGARDING:
“he is able to drive a car…. got a license,so he is able to read and comprehend things”
I thought they took his license away.
REGARDING:
” …..Newton’s 377 days have cost taxpayers $24,505 in housing costs.
“And that does not count any medical costs,” Rawson said. In general, the average medical costs per inmate in the Escambia County jail are $10 per day, but she said some inmates could have medical costs of several hundred dollars per month while other may have no medical costs and take no medications.”
At which point somebody usually says, “It’s cheaper to send him to Harvard than to lock him up>”
To which all right-thinking people cry out, “Great Idea! Send him to Harvard!! If all else fails, at least he’ll be in Cambridge, Massachusetts!”
David thinking they should appreciate the diversity
hmmmmmm… he is able to drive a car…. got a license,so he is able to read and comprehend things.He can assault someone,committ battery on them…no sweet little retarded teddy bear here… he can get into criminal mischief j….ust a good ole boy having fun….but he is not competant to know when his pants are down? give me a break!
lets get him and the rest in the road camp, theres lots of trimming and potholes needing patching,maybe start a cotton patch,make they’re stay a little less comfortable.
huh-one court deemed him mentally incompetent, which means he doesn’t understand the laws. Mental health counseling can’t fix that.
Maybe we should look at the elected officials that make the laws that tie the Judges hands.
Quit voting for friends and elect competent representatives.
“Question: Why the heck should we have to pay for people to stay in jail? We have to pay to be safe? Somehow that seems a little redundant to me. Government should pay to keep us safe.”
Huh? I’m not really understanding your point.
America is a developed country, a civilized society, that has an infrastructure to deal with the details of daily life. Jails are part of that infrastructure, as are courts, judges and lawyers. As citizens who benefit from what a civilized society offers, we each contribute to the “community kitty” or operational funds known to us as taxes. If you want to live in a tax free country, which also means no jails or roads or airports or TV stations or cell phone towers or interstate highways or water and sewer systems and all that jazz you will have to move to either an undeveloped remote island or move to….Somalia? No, I think they have taxes now, too. anybody that tries to tell you that you can have what America has to offer without paying taxes is lying to you.
Question: Why the heck should we have to pay for people to stay in jail? We have to pay to be safe? Somehow that seems a little redundant to me. Government should pay to keep us safe. In this scenario, why not just pay them when they try to rob us, shoot us, rape us, murder us, etc. and just let it end there. I’m sure the police would love that. “Oh no! No more money for Whataburger!”
So stop arresting him and get him some mental health instead?
Why do they keep arresting a person who has diminished mental capacity, perhaps even retarded?? This man appears to be old enough that his parents may not be living and/or not able to properly care for or supervise him. Who is part of this man’s life that could/should get a case manager for him and get him into adult day care? Has moral decay taken such a hold on America that we are willing to imprison retarded people?? Any of the county’s Bible thumpers ever read those books?? Oh, and don’t be a passenger in a car that gets in a wreck and you end up walking funny because you have permanent brain damage…because in Escambia county you’ll get arrested for that too.
Maybe instead of looking at all this man has done, we need to look at the Judges that keep letting him go.