The Cole County Commission has approved a contract with the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH) to have four beds at the Cole County Jail for inmates who normally would be held in the Fulton State Hospital, awaiting competency hearings for court proceedings.
Sheriff Greg White said the department will pay $90 dollar a day for each bed. They will also pay all the medical and transportation costs of the prisoners.
DMH officials said because the Fulton facility is licensed as a hospital they are limited in what they can do when inmates become combative.