Sheriff Revives Pros And Cons Of Chain Gangs Idea Latest In Lewis County’s Line Of Controversial Programs

The shovel leaning against the white Lewis County sheriff’s van fell with a clang.

Instinctively, jail inmate Todd Carver reached to pick it up. But with a jerk and a rattle, he found it just out of reach - his chain was too short.

“If the chain was gone, it’d be better,” Carver said, as he clinked and clattered back to his group.

Welcome to life on the chain gang, where your fellow inmate and worker on the line is never farther than 4 feet away, ankle to ankle.

The chain gang is back in Washington state, revived this week by Sheriff John McCroskey, and he might be the first to try it in years.

“I don’t believe any other county has a program like John has,” said Grant County Sheriff Bill Wiester, president of the Washington State Sheriff’s Association.

It isn’t a first welcomed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

“It’s beyond understanding,” said Jerry Sheehan, legislative director for the ACLU of Washington. “If they want to have people out on work release, there are plenty of work-release programs that have worked.”

McCroskey said the chains allow him to use medium security inmates. Most work release programs will take only minimum security prisoners who pose the least threat to the community.

Using chains, McCroskey said, he can put inmates to work without worrying about them taking off.

“They would have a horrible time trying to run,” he said.

But McCroskey has become used to outside interest and sometimes criticism of his corrections system. He still receives calls about his decision earlier this year to begin serving military field rations to inmates.

The “meals ready to eat” - or MREs - are daily fare at the jail in Chehalis, and they followed McCroskey’s ban on coffee, salt, pepper, margarine and most television privileges.

Those measures, McCroskey said, were to save money. This time, he said, he’s just trying to put inmates to work and maybe teach them a little work ethic along the way.

“I think everybody that’s in jail should work in some way,” McCroskey said.

And Lewis County’s chain gang inmates do work, eight hours a day, four days a week.

On Thursday, in a dirt field by a Winlock-area gas station just off Interstate 5, a dozen male and female inmates worked up a vigorous sweat under the morning sun, preparing a new sheriff’s substation.

With movements as awkward as picnickers in a three-legged race, the inmates dug trenches, spread bark and tried to get around. Occasionally, their chains kinked up, requiring some clever pirouetting to untangle them.

Most prisoners said learning to move with a chain attached to their ankles was the toughest part of the work.

“I don’t like it,” inmate Jackie Hamilton said, as she sat on a curb taking a break. Picking at the chain she said, “I get pulled around everywhere. This is hard.”

McCroskey, and some inmates, said the chains force the groups of four to work as a team. If one worker moves too far away, the others must follow, or that worker stays put.

Four days into the program, some said they’re starting to get the hang of it.

“None of us have fallen down yet,” Carver said.

Chain gangs have seen a resurgence across the country in recent years. Officials with the National Institute of Corrections in Colorado cited a 1996 study that found them used in eight states.

Lewis County’s start-up costs were between $4,000 and $5,000 for the chains, uniforms and other equipment.

The program isn’t like the chain gangs of Hollywood. There are no shotgun-wielding, cigar-chomping guards around. (The corrections officers nearby wear sidearms.) And inmates don’t wear iron restraints or stripes - though McCroskey did consider using the stripes.

But even so, inmates aren’t hard to spot. Their orange jump suits, almost neon bright, are emblazoned on the back with “Lewis County Chain Gang.” Across their orange caps is the word, “Inmate” in bold, black letters.

And, on the side of the van that hauls them to their work sites, is a logo that reads, “Lewis County Sheriff’s Chain Gang.”

The chains are connected to leather ankle restrains and are locked on with purple locks.

And one big difference from historic chain gangs is that these inmates are there by choice, agreeing to requirements that include mandatory classes, no swearing and addressing officers as ma’am or sir.

“It’s kind of degrading, but it could be worse,” said Mike, an inmate who would only give his first name. “At least we’re out in the summertime getting a tan.”

And there are other benefits for the inmates, including reduced time behind bars and better living conditions.

Even so, most said being on a chain gang is an experience they won’t forget and don’t want to repeat.

“I usually hit in there once a year,” Carver said of his time in jail. “But I’ll make sure I stay out now.”