MAHONING COUNTY JAIL Atty. Hanni complains inmates are held over

The lawyer says inmates often wait hours to be released.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A local defense lawyer says his client is among countless people who have been unlawfully held too long in the Mahoning County jail.
Atty. Don L. Hanni Jr. is asking that Sheriff Randall Wellington be found in contempt of court and possibly be made to serve time in the jail he oversees.
"Perhaps if the court were to order Sheriff Wellington to serve some time in jail he would acquire a new attitude of what it feels like to be deprived of one's freedom," Hanni wrote in a motion filed this week in common pleas court.
Wellington said he's unaware of any long delays in the release of inmates. If it has happened, it was unintentional, the sheriff said.
Hanni's client
Hanni represents Vincent Luchison, 27, of Bonnie Brae Avenue, who was arraigned in common pleas court this week on drug charges, for which he was recently indicted by a county grand jury. Luchison pleaded innocent and was ordered to be released from jail on his own recognizance.
Hanni says in the complaint that Luchison immediately reported back to the county jail and prepared to be released. Despite repeated requests by Hanni to free him, Luchison remained in jail for some six hours before he was finally set free.
Hanni said it is not unusual for the family of a jail inmate to post his or her bail, or to have a judge order an inmate's release from jail, then be required to wait several hours until "Wellington makes up his mind" to release the person from custody.
Wellington said if there are delays in releasing people from jail, it's because he's short-staffed.
"It takes time to process an inmate for release, and everybody just has to wait their turn," the sheriff said. "We do the best we can. We try to expedite things, but I guess we don't go as fast as some attorneys think we should."
bjackson@vindy.com