Security equipment installed on JDC courthouse
Published 12:09 pm Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Holley Cochran / The Prentiss Headlight—Sheriff Ron Strickland with the newly installed razor wire and fencing that will keep the prisoners from using the staircase to flee from the courthouse.
Holley Cochran / The Prentiss Headlight—Prisoners were able to access the outside staircase, after escaping the jail cell through the light in the ceiling and making their way to the roof.
Security has been heightened at the Jefferson Davis County jail.
Razor wire and fencing have been installed at the outside staircase preventing prisoners from escaping via the roof.
Many prisoners have made their way through the light fixture in the jail cell, through the ceiling and to the roof to freedom over the years.
Some prisoners who have escaped through the ceiling are Jerry Raynes in 2016, William (B.J.) Bayse and Belton Sims in 2018 and most recently, Casey Joe Jones in 2020.
“It was time to put a stop to this problem,” said Jefferson Davis County Sheriff Ron Strickland.
“The safety of the citizens of this county is of upmost importance.”
“There will be no more leaving the jail cell through the ceilings.”
The razor wire was donated to the department and then installed by Heath Williams with KH & C, LLC.
The outside staircase was used by court officials and clerks to access the courtroom from behind the bench.
Both doors now remain locked and will be unused.
