Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
It would be fair to assume that even in the 1940’s, those responsible for upholding the law would be paid a regular salary for their efforts. After all, having a commission-based system for sheriffs and their deputies would be a hotbed of corruption, right?
Yes. It would.
Yet Tennessee’s fee system was exactly that. Lawmakers were paid sums of cash for each person they arrested, jailed, or released.
Predictably, this led to arrests for all manner of inconsequential misdemeanours. Something as simple as sitting waiting for a friend could be enough to earn you some time in the slammer, and earn a handsome bonus for the sheriff’s department in the process.
It would be fair to assume that even in the 1940’s, those responsible for upholding the law would be paid a regular salary for their efforts. After all, having a commission-based system for sheriffs and their deputies would be a hotbed of corruption, right?
Yes. It would.
Yet Tennessee’s fee system was exactly that. Lawmakers were paid sums of cash for each person they arrested, jailed, or released.
Predictably, this led to arrests for all manner of inconsequential misdemeanours. Something as simple as sitting waiting for a friend could be enough to earn you some time in the slammer, and earn a handsome bonus for the sheriff’s department in the process.
