The courtroom was packed as people anxiously waited to find out if the Sheriff Bowens would have to serve 20 days in the jail he oversees
Sheriff John Bowens faced off with Judge Ronnie Lang in court for a citation for contempt.
Lang claims that Bowens deliberately disobeyed him and caused problems which hindered the administration of the courts proceedings.
Bowens had a deputy transport two prisoners to court instead of the four requested. Bowens said it was a shortage of deputies, and the safety factor that led him to make that decision.
Sheriff Bowens claimed he called Judge Lang twice trying to explain the tough situation he was faced with, and the security risk it imposed, but Judge Lang never called back. Sheriff Bowens’ lawyer Leonard Danley says if Judge Lang would have called back the citation would have never happened. “If he had called back, there’s no way we’d be here today. The sheriff wanted to know what his concerns were and what could he do to ensure that these concerns were taken care of, but he got no response from the judge” says Danley.
Twenty-eight years ago a Terrell County deputy was killed by a handcuffed inmate, and because of that situation Sheriff Bowens says he can’t afford one deputy to transport four inmates. “I have to look out for every one of the deputies as well as the inmates, as well as the personnel in court, along with the judge, and you know whomever else is around” says Bowens.
Judge Lang admits it wasn’t the safest transportation plan, but he says the Sheriff should have helped transport the prisoners himself.
Sheriff Bowens and his attorney strongly disagreed saying when it comes to public safety, you can never be too safe. “He could not take that chance. If something bad had happened the whole world would have blamed him. Why would the sheriff send one deputy to get four inmates at the same time?” says Danley.
Judge Dane Perkins says he will review all evidence and will reconvene in three weeks with a decision.
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