Inmates tout benefit of jail’s re-entry program

Whitley Co. Detention Center inmates Anthony Merriman, left, and Mack Jones, right, were two of the featured speakers at a recent Whitley Co. UNITE Coalition meeting and spoke about how the jail’s re-entry program has given them hope.

33-year-old Anthony Merriman makes no secret of the fact he was a “career criminal,” who has been sent to the penitentiary five times in his life.

The Lexington native was a troubled child who was in and out of jail. He used drugs “a lot” and thought he had it under control to a certain extent. That is, until he got a 12-year sentence for burglary in late 2014.