I am curious if anyone is having requests from sheriff's offices for bench warrants to bring inmates back to do their time in the county jail; This seems like a train wreck to me; It undercuts the trial court's judgment and leads to favors for wealthy defendants; Anyone familiar with the TDCJ program?

I had a client report to me that the Sheriff had asked him to do his time at the jail. He was a very experienced construction guy, with electrical training, no history of violence, good worker, etc... He never told me how he would resolve that one, and the plea is over.

On the upside, and I realize that the policy may favor wealthier people, but if you could bring them back, make them useful, and make them pay a statutory minimum for their stay, or up to 100.00, how could that possibly be bad for the local sheriff. Of course, to look good, you may want to waive a few 'living fees' to the really useful!

Ditto.
I've seen several counties keep perps long term that were good at one trade or another, painters, electricians, plumbers, landscapers.

When I was in Harris County I always heard of a guy who was serving a long TDC sentence who lived at the county jail because he was a barber. I heard of a lot of guys in the office that would go over there and get their hair cut at the jail for a really cheap price.

In the old days, "some prosecutors", at the request of the high sheriff, would bench warrant an inmate back to county because he had some skill (cooked the sheriff's favorite peach cobbler, etc.) The bench warrants, although properly executed, were for questionable settings.

I have recently been told TDCJ had legitimized this practice by allowing inmates to be bench warranted back specifically to serve their time in county. Again, the requests I have recently had stemmed from the inmates particular skills (he was great in the laundry, we need some renovations at the jail and he was a good carpenter) I have flatly declined to request these bench warrants. They were sent to TDCJ for a reason and for a specific time. They should stay there.