'60 Days In' Season 6: Vanessa, Donovan and Heather apprise Chief Horton of Etowah County Jail's shortcomings
The final episode of '60 Days In' saw Jonathan Horton, Chief of Police at Etowah County Jail pulling the undercover inmates — Heather, Vanessa, Tony, and Donovan — out of the facility abruptly. The move came close on the heels of the shakedown where corrections officers (COs) swooped the entire facility for contraband. That coupled with an earlier incident where Jamichael told everyone in the facility that Tony was from '60 Days In' after the latter was released from solitary confinement in just four hours instead of three days.
Following the events that happened back to back, the jail inmates were convinced that the camera crew and producers are the police and they started yelling threats at them. Chief Peek got word from the control room about the ruckus created in the facility and the "dangerous and incredible threats against the participants and crew" and that is when he along with Sheriff Horton pulled out all of them to evade any untoward situations.
Heather was sure something was wrong with how fast things happened and she was up for release but was relieved at the same time to get out, as the suspicions about them being a part of the program were higher and things could go south any moment. She had an emotional farewell with her cellmate before leaving. Out of the facility in the car, both Vanessa and Heather were discussing how the jail was "the worst place" they've ever been in their life and how it has taken a toll on their emotional and physical being.
Back at the men's pod, Tony was asked to grab his things so that they could process his release. He wanted to grab all his drugs and shanks before getting out so that he could hand them to the Sheriff. He grabbed all his contraband and put it in his sock. He was worried that he'd get caught on his way out and that would be a little more dangerous if they caught him with drugs on his person but it turns out his worries were for nothing and he walked out with clone, 5 pills, and 6 dollars. Donovan was surprised that he managed to get out with all that stuff. He didn't know they could walk out with stuff and joked that Tony "one-upped" him.
Later in the episode, all four undercover officers met with Chief Peek and Chief Horton to discuss the issues that lie in front of them and the work that needs to be done to better the management. Heather pointed out that the biggest problem is during intake. She mentioned that the security checks could be more stringent as the current process has a lot of loopholes and drugs can be smuggled inside easily. Vanessa also added that she saw drugs in her very first hour at the prison.
Heather further elaborated that she'd be "doing a disservice" is she doesn't talk about the behavior of the COs. She mentioned that her first night at the facility, there was a staff assault that could've been prevented and the handling of the situation was appalling. Vanessa mentioned that there are no boundaries between the COs and the inmates. The latter have access to the door codes and anyone can pop the cell doors open which is a huge security slip-up. She further added that the COs are on social media most of the time. The ladies also pointed out that the shakedown in the female pod was a failure as the trustees had already announced the same, alerting the inmates to hide their contrabands.
Tony, on the other hand, mentioned that he was impressed by Jamichael. He recalled having "pushed him and pushed him" but the officer backed off and showed no signs of being intimidated by his behavior, leaving Tony mighty impressed. He also pointed out that the shakedown at the male pod caught him completely off-guard and blindsided as there was no word of it happening before unlike the women's pod. However, he mentioned that the patdown was horrible and he also revealed that he walked out of the facility with shanks and drugs which he later handed out to Sheriff Horton. Donovan noted a positive improvement around the facility. He mentioned that getting drugs inside is down by 60 percent.
Chief Horton was "frustrated and pissed" listening to all of the issues that his facility is plagued with. At the same time, he was thankful to all of them for doing what they did and mentioned it was an "enriching experience." He highlighted that this program put the jail 10 years ahead of the curve and that the jail is much more safer because of '60 Days In.'
