The Discovery Channel on Thursday canceled plans to film a documentary inside the Dallas County Jail after a judge had granted county commissioners a temporary restraining order to halt the filming. Earlier in the week the commissioners had complained that Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez had not consulted them about her agreement to allow a film crew access to the jail and raised concerns about inmate privacy and the possibility of security breaches. In an editorial on Thursday the Dallas Morning News commented, "Perhaps the sheriff naively believed that her final-cut authority would ensure the positive publicity she craves, but she must have known it was no coincidence her jail was chosen. No matter what was filmed, this documentary would have mentioned that Dallas County jails have failed five consecutive state inspections - including all four on her watch - and remain under federal court order for neglect and indifference." Columnist James Ragland added, ""Sheriff, seriously, here's what most folks are saying: How about passing at least one state inspection before you start rolling out the red carpet for a film crew?"
04/07/2008
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