Guns and Peanut Butter

The Tennessee Dept of Corrections issued a press release this week to announce they will ban jars of peanut butter for jail inmates. The story got some minor press coverage, though not one single reporter thought to ask to most important questions about this case.

The trouble, according to TDOC, is that inmates were using the 18 ounce containers to hide guns, drugs, cell phones, clothes, etc. In fact, last year's bloody jail escape and murderous shoot out enacted by George Hyatte in August occured after he used one-such smuggled cell phone to coordinate his deadly escape on his way to court in Knoxville with the aid of his girlfriend.

All press reports note that inmates purchased these large jars of peanut butter through a jail commissary. So, then, since inmates don't usually store guns, cell phones and drugs in their cells, SOMEONE had to put those items in the jars before they were purchased by inmates. SOMEONE in, say, a jail commissary -- but no word on corrective actions taken against the operations of a commissary. Just no more giant jars for the inmates. Currently TDOC says some 4,600 jars are in stock, but will be replaced .... soon.