The Detention Center
Chilton County Jail
- Operated byChilton County Sheriff's Office
- Jail address301 City Street, Clanton, AL 35045
- Rated capacity232 beds
- In custodyRoster header showed 202 on 29 Sep 2026
- MedicalSouthern Health Partners (named on the page)
- Phones, video visits and mailSecurus (named on the page)
- CommissaryTeam3 Inmate Canteen (named on the page)
- Jail AdministratorAnn Davis, Warden (Commanding Officer); Kathy Garris, Assistant Warden
Source: Chilton County Sheriff's Office — Corrections · checked 2026-09-29
Transparency rating
4/10Partial- ✓The jail is named
- ✓Who is in custody
- ✓Beds and daily population
- ✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
- ✗Deaths in custody — not published
- ✗PREA audits — not published
- ✗Independent inspection — not published
- ✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
- ✓How to post bond
- ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year builtNot found
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- Beds232
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff John Shearon
- Runs the jailYes — the jail's corrections page is on the sheriff's own site; the sheriff has legal custody by law (Ala. Code § 14-6-1)
- How the office is filledElected, four-year term; seat on the 3 November 2026 ballot
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Chilton County Sheriff's Office — Message from the Sheriff · checked 2026-09-29
The Judges
Alabama's circuit and district judges are elected state judges. A district judge or magistrate usually sets bail soon after arrest; felony cases are tried in circuit court.
Who sets bail in Chilton County
- Circuit Court: Alabama's Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, which also serves Autauga and Elmore. Circuit judges are elected circuit-wide to six-year terms and try felony cases.
- District Court: the Chilton County District Court. District judges are elected countywide to six-year terms; a district judge or magistrate usually sets bail soon after arrest.
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-29
The County Commission
They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.
- What they controlThe county budget that funds the sheriff's office and the jail, and the jail building itself.
- What they don'tDay-to-day operations. By law the sheriff has legal custody and charge of the jail and everyone held in it (Ala. Code 14-6-1). No state agency sets and enforces standards for the jail.
- NoteSheriff's site links the Chilton County Commission at chiltoncounty.org, but our reader could not open it; agendas/minutes not read.
- The boardChilton County Commission
- Where the jail money is decidedNot found
Notes on the record
- Sheriff's own site chiltoncountyso.org (found by search) confirms Chilton County, Alabama; sheriff named on its Message from the Sheriff page.
- Corrections page names the jail, address, 232 beds, the warden, visitation rules, commissary schedule and three ways to post bond.
- Live inmate roster showed 202 in custody on 29 Sep 2026.
- Vendors (Southern Health Partners, Securus, Team3) are named but no contracts are posted; phone and video rates not published.
- No PREA, deaths or inspection material found on the pages opened.
- What was tried: guessed domains chiltoncountysheriff.com/.org, chiltonso.org, chiltoncountyal.gov, chiltoncounty.org, co.chilton.al.us refused by reader; sheriff administration and FAQ pages refused.
- Budget and commission minutes not examined — commission site not openable.
- State inspection/oversight: Alabama has no state agency that sets and enforces standards for county jails. The law that once gave a state agency jail-inspection duties was repealed in 2015.
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Chilton County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).
How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?
Your VOTE is POWERFUL.
The sheriff is elected — every Alabama sheriff's seat is on the November 2026 ballot. So are the commissioners who pay for the jail, and the judges who set bail.
Names verified 2026-09-29 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered