Arrested Development

Can’t afford health insurance? Rob a liquor store.

Local sheriffs find it particularly galling that inmates sometimes get better care in jail than they do on the outside -- and better care than many people who have done nothing wrong.

Better care than those who have done nothing wrong . . .

"Granted, our inmates are still not guilty, but we have people in jail who actually have full coverage, but we have disadvantaged adults and children out there who have done nothing wrong, who have no coverage. There is something wrong in the system," Madison County Sheriff Robert Hertz said

Not guilty means they have not (yet) gone to trial.

"These people may have neglected their own health on the outside, but once they get in here they develop all kinds of ailments," Hertz said. "The ailments may just be outlandish, but we can’t afford to tell them they’re crazy. We have to err on the side of caution because if they really are sick, and we don’t provide care, we’re opening ourselves to a lawsuit. It’s just a difficult situation."

If you don’t treat me I will sue.

Who says crime doesn't pay?