Service over sentence
Boone County Jail inmates volunteer at the Central Missouri Food Bank in exchange for reduced sentences.
Published April 28, 2006
Although many people refer to activities such as massages or watching television to relieve stress, inmates at Boone County Jail have to find different ways to break the monotony of life in jail.
One way inmates relieve the stresses of incarceration is to participate in the Service Over Sentence program that Boone County Jail offers to inmates. The program allows groups of inmates to leave the jail and volunteer at the Central Missouri Food Bank in exchange for reduced sentences.
"It's a good chance to move around, stress relief, really," said Charles Bell, a Boone County Jail inmate.
Warren Brewer, an administrator at the Boone County Jail, said in an e-mail that the jail doesn't determine the reduced sentences.
"The reduction in sentence is strictly up to the judge," Brewer said. "It has nothing to do with the amount of work that is being accomplished."
The program restarted in February after some troubles with staffing in 2005.
Boone County Jail plans to send inmates to work at least once a week to do various tasks around the food bank, said officer Scott Weseloh, who supervises the inmates while they work at the food bank.
The inmates work alongside other volunteers and participate in a variety of tasks, such as sorting items that the food bank receives as donations, including paper towels and frozen turkeys.
"These guys will really get tired of seeing hot dogs," said Weseloh, after a group of inmates sorted a large bin of hot dogs.
Last year, volunteers from many areas contributed more than 44,000 hours of service to the food bank, said Peggy Kirkpatrick, executive director of the Central Missouri Food Bank.
She said that the food bank provides a valuable experience for the inmates.
"We do give them some liberties they don't normally have in jail," said Maureen O'Hare, a volunteer at the food bank.
During breaks, the inmates often listen to music and goof off. Between sorting boxes of food, one inmate sometimes shows off his dancing skills.
"Don't make me turn on country," Weseloh said as he tried to get the inmates back to work.