TAUNTON, Mass. - - Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, known for
controversial ideas such as charging inmates $5 daily rent, has proposed
a "Prisoner Peace Corps" that would send inmates to provide aid in
global trouble spots.
At a swearing-in ceremony yesterday, Hodgson said he's contacted White
House officials about sending prisoners as aid workers in places such as
Afghanistan, The Standard-Times of New Bedford reported.
He said the details are "far from settled," but said he wanted to offer
prisoners the chance to volunteer to work on rebuilding things like
roads, schools and churches after war.
"Besides allowing inmates to finish their sentence in this way, it would
be, I believe, a life-changing experience to let inmates see the
devastation of war and its effect on children," he said.
The program might allow inmates to shave time off their county
sentences, if county courts agree. It would also require cooperation
from the military, and possibly the host countries the prisoners would
be sent to.
Hodgson acknowledged the significant obstacles but was unfazed. He said
he began speaking to Bush administration officials last month and that
progress was slow, but steady.
"It's Washington bureaucracy," he said. "But they're interested and
intrigued."
