Knight Focusing on Positive Changes at Jail

McCracken County's new jailer has already been making his mark at the facility, and is focusing on the positive side of things.

Jailer David Knight, who was sworn into office Friday, told West Kentucky Star on Monday that he's been putting some programs in place since the election, and former Jailer Tonya Ray, who resigned Friday, has been working with him to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Knight said Ray's early resignation was a matter of convenience for both of them and took advantage of a quirk in how the job is structured by state regulations.

"Basically, she don't get paid for that last week, and it helps me out in the transition, so she allowed me to step in a little early," he said.

A military veteran, Knight has changed a few rules around the place, like shave and haircut policies for staff, and new rules for inmates, such as requiring them to make their beds each day.

Currently, the jail has 59 employees, and the facility houses around 510-515 inmates each day. While that's a lot of work, Knight said he enjoys it and has a lot of good help.

He said, "Somebody asked me if I was going to come in and 'clean house,' and no, I'm not. We've got a great group of guys down there - and ladies - to help do this."

One thing he's already been working on is starting some training programs for inmates that might help them find employment when they are released.

Knight said, "We've started working on different programs to implement to help with inmates as far as getting welding programs started, possibly carpentry programs, different education programs to help these inmates not come back to jail." 

He said county inmates can be in jail for as long as a year. The programs can be funded by state or federal grants, or costs can be covered by inmate purchases using their commissary accounts. 

Knight was fired in March by Ray after he consulted with the County Attorney's office about an incident involving another employee, but he was reinstated a short time later under the state's whistle blower act. Nine months later, he is the new Jailer, and he thinks his principles helped get him elected.

Knight said, "It's never fun getting fired, but it's always nice to know that what you did was right, and (that) standing up for what's right pays off in the end - or at least you hope it does - and in this case it paid off tremendously. That was probably a huge advantage for me through this process."

As he takes that attitude forward, Knight said he hopes it set an example for other employees, and for inmates, too.