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Athens Co. Prosecutor Makes Inmates Pay Up

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The Athens County Prosecutor's Office has collected more jail restitution money in the last month than in the past year.  

The reason for this increase is that Prosecutor Keller Blackburn has now made it a priority to make inmates pay for their own incarceration.

"We spent about 30 percent, 33 percent of the county's general fund, on law enforcement, being the Sheriff's budget, my budget and the regional jail. 1.4 million of it being the regional jail is a large burden for tax payers. In certain cases in the past people have paid, but it hasn't been a large priority," says Blackburn.

The office collected nearly $24,000 for the month of January, surpassing the yearly amount collected in 2011 of nearly $21,000.