Video conference set for court use

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. -- Lawrence County inmates may soon participate in court proceedings without leaving the jail.

The sheriff's department plans to use part of a $17,000 grant from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance to buy a video conferencing system for the southwest Missouri jail.

It will allow arraignments, motions hearings and other proceedings to be conducted from the jail, and will prevent deputies from having to escort inmates across a public street to the courthouse in downtown Mount Vernon, Sheriff Doug Seneker said.