Search
Share & Follow Religion News Blog
Remember These Stories?
Two years ago today: Private prosecutor in slay of cult leader’s wife killed , The capitalist yogi and Lifting burdens with enlightenment
Progress in jail probe still seems under lock, key
Six months and counting.
That’s how long this community has waited to hear how deeply a quasi-religious sect led by a convicted child molester has ingrained itself into the Clarke County Jail.
The wait shouldn’t continue much longer.
In fact, wrapping up that investigation ought to be the top priority for Chief Deputy Sheriff Jack Mitchell, newly appointed jail commander. In the Tuesday edition of this newspaper (Story, “New Clarke jail commander appointed“), Mitchell said an investigation which began in March is continuing, but he could not talk about it other than to say “no final actions have yet been taken.”
The probe began after former jail commander Brett Hart was notified by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons of the interception of a letter from a Clarke County deputy to Dwight “Malachi” York, 60-year-old leader of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors. The Nuwaubians are a black supremacist sect which York has led under a variety of names, including Chief Black Thunder Eagle and Baba Bassa Afrika. The sect, which had a 476-acre compound in Eatonton, teaches a concept called “right knowledge,” and some followers believe York to be an extraterrestrial.
York is serving a 135-year sentence on child molestation, racketeering and other convictions in a federal maximum security prison in Colorado.
As the probe into Nuwaubian influence at the Clarke County Jail unfolded, there were indications some deputies were passing out Nuwaubian literature to inmates and engaging in other forms of proselytizing. While there are obviously some free speech issues involved here, the public has a right to know whether a quasi-religious philosophy being pushed by a convicted criminal has taken hold within an arm of local law enforcement. In July, several deputies belonging to the sect were placed on administrative leave, and remain suspended with pay, so it appears there is at least some reason for the public to be concerned about Nuwaubian influence at the jail.
It’s certainly understandable that those involved with the ongoing probe want to be deliberate and cautious in their approach to that investigation. But six months seems like a more than adequate span of time in which to take a thorough look at the issue.
If the investigation has been pursued diligently, six months is more than enough time to have interviewed deputies, the jail’s supervisory staff and current and former inmates, in the process of getting a complete – or very nearly complete – picture of how much influence the Nuwaubian sect has at the jail.
In fact, if the investigation continues for much longer, it will be legitimate for the public to wonder whether the sheriff’s department is truly interested in apprising the public of the extent of Nuwaubian influence at the jail. A six-month investigation at least indicates the possibility sheriff’s department officials are simply dragging their feet, hoping public interest in the issue will fade and eventually disappear.
The public deserves better from its sheriff’s department. If the public isn’t going to hear complete results of the probe into Nuwaubian influence in the very near future, it is at least owed an explanation as to why it’s taking the sheriff’s department so long to complete that probe.
Bookmark, Share, or Email This Page
Read Another Article
|
Related News Articles
Topic(s): 
Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates
Find Related Information
Find Related 
Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles
Search Religion News Blog