The Detention Center
Covington County Jail
- Operated byCovington County Sheriff's Department
- Jail address290 Hillcrest Drive, Andalusia, AL 36420 (the sheriff's department page lists 260 Hillcrest Drive for the office)
- Mailing addressP.O. Box 188, Andalusia, AL 36420
- Jail phone334-428-2640
- VisitationVideo visitation, three daily windows, scheduled through a vendor website
- MedicalLicensed medical personnel provide inmate healthcare
- Rated capacityNot found
- Jail AdministratorJennifer Hudson (Jail Administrator); Philip Osborne (Assistant Jail Administrator)
Source: Covington County — County Jail · checked 2026-09-29
Transparency rating
1/10Closed- ✓The jail is named
- ✗Who is in custody — not published
- ✗Beds and daily population — not published
- ✗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 — not published
- ✗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
- BedsNot found
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff David "Blake" Turman
- Runs the jailYes — the county site lists the Covington County Jail under the Sheriff's Department; by law the sheriff has legal custody of the jail (Ala. Code 14-6-1)
- How the office is filledElected, four-year term
- In office sinceFirst sworn into office in 2019, per the county's sheriff page
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Covington County — Sheriff David Blake Turman · 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 Covington County
- Circuit Court: Alabama's Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit, which serves Covington County alone. Circuit judges are elected circuit-wide to six-year terms and try felony cases.
- District Court: the Covington 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.
- NoteFive-member Covington County Commission, all elected countywide to four-year terms; the chairman (Michael Smith) is elected countywide. The Commission adopts the county budget.
- The boardCovington County Commission →
- Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →
Notes on the record
- County site covingtoncountyal.gov opened and confirmed Alabama (Andalusia).
- The County Jail page names the jail, its address, jail administrator and assistant, video visitation hours and commissary account types, but gives no roster, capacity, bond guidance, PREA, or fee rates.
- Commissary and phone accounts are handled through outside vendor websites; no rates are shown on the county page.
- No budget, audit or financial report is posted on the Commission Office page or in the Agenda Center listing viewed.
- What was tried: covingtoncountyal.gov home, Sheriff's Department, County Jail, Elected Offices, Sheriff page, County Commission, Commission Office, Courthouse, Agenda Center, Government, Departments.
- 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 Covington 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