Local mogul Coran Capshaw has committed to donate $6,000 a month for a work crew to improve landscaping around the entrances to Albemarle County. The program will allow inmates to work for “time off” from their sentences.
Inmates who are jailed for non-violent crimes for sentences less than two years qualify, according to Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail superintendent Colonel Ronald Matthews.
Albemarle County Sheriff Edgar S. Robb has been a proponent of the idea, in consideration since winter of 2005, Matthews says. Robb could not say how long Capshaw’s monthly pledge will last because, according to a member of that office’s staff, “this office does not conduct interviews with the C-VILLE Weekly.” Matthews could not say whether Capshaw approached the department or the other way around. Capshaw could not be reached for comment.
Capshaw’s contribution will cover ongoing costs. A guard will be paid $16.34 per hour to oversee the inmates, who will earn $3 to $5 per day and will work in what Matthews calls “easily identifiable” uniforms. Inmates can use the money to pay fines or buy items at the jail’s canteen.
They can also work time off their sentences, with time calculations varying for local and state inmates. Local felons must serve 50 percent of their sentenced time, state cons must serve 85 percent.
Albemarle already uses inmate work crews for parks and recreation projects, in addition to this new program for entrance corridors. Matthews has worked in other jurisdictions, such as Hampton and Sussex, where road work crews are a success: “It gives them a chance to get outside, get some fresh air. The community benefits because they have a crew that’s providing the service at a greatly reduced price.”
The County needs a vehicle for the work crew, tools and supplies before work can begin.
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