Man charged for his time in county jail

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This is a local case about a doctor that killed his wife. A very strange case. Anyway, I thought that the county billing him for his time in jail was sort of strange.

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Hamilton Billed For Time Spent In County Jail

Attorney Calls Action 'Ridiculous'

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A physician who was convicted of the Valentine's Day 2001 murder of his wife has been billed $11,104 for the time he spent awaiting trial in the Oklahoma County Jail.

District Attorney Wes Lane has invoked a seldom-used law to force Dr. John B. Hamilton to pay the cost of his incarceration.

Eyewitness News 5 was unable to find another case where a defendant was billed for his or her stay at the county jail, reporter Terri Watkins reported.

"Dr. Hamilton was financially able to secure some tremendous lawyers and investigators (for his trial)," Lane said. "I don't see why the taxpayers should pick up his jail tab."

The week of his arrest, Hamilton paid $140 to leave the jail to attend his wife’s funeral under the escort of county sheriff’s deputies.

“They are able to afford those things, then it’s only fair, in my view on behalf of the taxpayers, that he should also bear the burden of paying for the costs of his stay in the jail,” Lane said.

Hamilton's attorney, Mack Martin, said the request is "ridiculous" because his client was denied bail.

"If we were not denied bail it might be appropriate," Martin said. "We weren't given an option."

Prosecutors cited a 1999 statute that allows a judge to assess the cost of incarceration for people confined in the county jail.

If a judge orders Hamilton to pay, 85 percent of the money would be reimbursed to the Oklahoma County Jail. Five percent would each go to the district attorney's office, a victim's compensation fund and the court clerk's revolving fund.

But what about other criminal cases, Watkins asked.

“It might be we have somebody else in jail awaiting trial that we think has the financial wherewithal, maybe we will seek that,” Lane said. “We’ll have to take it on a case-by-case basis.”

Hamilton’s formal sentencing is scheduled next week. The jury recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole, and the judge is expected to go along with that decision, Watkins reported.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2002


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