MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County jail inmates can knock an hour off their sentence for each hour they spend on some dirty work — cleaning up blood, feces, saliva and other bodily fluids at the House of Correction and Criminal Justice Facility.
Sheriff David Clarke said it's a common-sense approach to clean-up chores no one is eager to take on.
"Look, somebody has to do it," Clarke said. "It's cost effective because the alternative is to pay a county worker to do the job. With pay and benefits, that comes to $30 an hour."
Those who volunteer get biohazard training and protective gear.
"This isn't heart surgery and it's not like we're asking them to handle nuclear waste," Clarke said. "It's janitorial work and they do have to be trained properly because of AIDS and hepatitis."
Records show two inmates have earned time off under the program.
A 33-year-old-West Allis man convicted of fraud on a taxicab driver, disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property worked nearly 13 days off his sentence.
A 29-year-old Greenfield man convicted of fraudulently obtaining a prescription drug worked off almost 11 days.
The program has been approved by the county's judges and the state jail inspector.
The union for county workers has no objections.
"It's not a job we're going to fight to keep," said union president Kurt Zunker.
10K Pound Jigsaw Puzzle
LONDON (Reuters) – A rubbish collector in central England could have a very good Christmas if he can solve one of the biggest jigsaw puzzles going -- 10,000 pounds-worth of torn up bank notes.
Graham Hill found the large bundle of cut up 10- and 20-pound notes while emptying bins in Lincoln last May, according to the Lincolnshire Echo newspaper.
He handed the package to police, but after six months no one had claimed the notes and investigators could find no evidence that it was stolen or linked to criminal activity.
The Bank of England said it would exchange the notes for new ones if Hill could piece the money back together again.
"Providing the bank notes meet the evidence requirements, then an application for reimbursement should be successful," a central bank spokeswoman said. "In particular we look at the two serial numbers on the front of the notes."
Colleagues of Hill's are hoping he gets to work quickly.
"I just hope he pieces enough of the notes back together to get a round of drinks in at the works Christmas do," a co-worker was quoted as saying. "Christmas is only around the corner, so any bonus will be welcome."
(Reporting by Luke Baker; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
A WOMAN is partially deaf after her boyfriend sucked her eardrum completely out during some steamy foreplay - while a shocked coroner has ruled a lonely alcoholic picked his nose so much he DIED.
The woman, from Zhuhai, in southern Guangdong province, China, went to hospital deaf in her left ear after the sloppy kiss.
"The kiss reduced pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear," a local doctor said.
He added that her hearing would likely return to normal after about two months - but warned: "While kissing is normally very safe, doctors advise people to proceed with caution."
Meanwhile, an inquest has ruled Ian Bothwell, of Ladybarn near Didsbury, Manchester, England, died of misadventure after suffering a fatal nosebleed because of his exploratory habits.
The 63-year-old, who suffered from dementia brought on by alcoholism, was found alone at his flat with his nasal cavity full of blood.
Manchester coroner Nigel Meadows concluded: "There is no explanation for this death other than he died from a nose-bleed, consistent with picking his nose.
"I do not think for a moment he knew what he was doing was going to cause his death."
THREE British men gang-raped a teenage girl with a mental age of eight before pouring caustic soda over her face and body to destroy DNA evidence.
The men - Rogel McMorris, 18, Jason Brew, 19, and Hector Muaimba, 20 - were all found guilty in a north London court overnight of rape, the Daily Mail reported.
They will be sentenced next month.
Wood Green Crown Court was told the men left the Ghanaian-born girl screaming in agony, with skin peeling off her face and body, as they ran away laughing after the rape in Tottenham in January.
The attack left the 15-year-old, who has a mental age of eight or nine, disfigured for life and severely traumatised, the Mail said.
The trio sneered in the dock as their victim frequently paused while
giving evidence because her wounds were causing discomfort.
The
attackers, up to 10 of them, were all members of a gang calling
themselves 'Tugs From Around', meaning thugs from several parts of
north London.
Some of the attackers were never identified but
those convicted were caught by DNA and fingerprint evidence plus data
proving their mobile phones were at the location at the time.