The leading prosecutor in Hinds County, Miss., has spent a substantial amount of personal funds to cover grand jury expenses, primarily due to the inability of the juries to convene at the Hinds County Courthouse, WLBT reports. District Attorney Jody Owens provided statements and invoices from the Westin Hotel, where he’s been convening grand jury meetings. Since February 2023, those charges have come to nearly $75,000 - an amount Owens says he initially pays out of pocket, with hopes of being reimbursed from his office’s reserves and seizure funds. However, he says those funds have largely dried up and he needs the Board of Supervisors to step in and help. “Using one of my business credit cards, just to be able to put stuff on it every month and try to seek the reimbursement... it’s not sustainable,” he said. “I mean, it should have never happened in the first place.” He says he can’t continue to pay the amount out-of-pocket, but he can’t move back to the Hinds County Courthouse until repairs are made. “We have flooding throughout our office," Owens said. "I had an attorney move out of her office ... because she saw what she believes was mold. Among concerns, the grand jury room and Law Library in the DA’s office flood during storms.
The District Attorney began using the Westin during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was attracted to the hotel because it was close to the DA’s Office and because it had enough space to allow jurors, attorneys, and others to practice social distancing. However, the hotel is costly. Room rentals for May and June, for instance, totaled $1,500. That amount doesn’t include the $930 spent for jurors’ meals, the $378 charged for parking, or the $360 in service fees also tacked on. Owens said he’s tried to reduce those costs, in part, by providing outside catering, something the hotel wouldn’t allow. He’s also defied costs by moving some meeting days to the Warren Hood Building. Owens says he’s now working with the County Administrator on a request to take to the board, and he hopes to present it at one of the board’s upcoming meetings. In October, the board unanimously allocated $45,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help cover grand jury costs. However, Owens says his office has never gotten that money.
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