DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A metro politician convicted of corruption got to wear his own pajamas behind bars.
Channel 2 Action News obtained video that shows former DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis walking around in his blue sleepwear.
He wore them in jail the night a jury found him guilty of attempted theft by extortion and perjury.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Erica Byfield put in the open-records requests for that video and others after jail insiders told us Sheriff Jeffrey Mann let Ellis do things other inmates could not.
The video also shows DeKalb County's suspended CEO hugging jailers, walking in and out of his pod freely and in 5 different outfits in his first 24 hours behind bars.
Along with the pajamas Ellis is seen donning a suit, work out clothing, plaid shirt and pants and a sweater and pants.
We showed the footage to retired Butts County Sheriff Gene Pope. He ran a jail for 20 years.
Pope told Byfield the law gives sheriffs the final say.
"The main issue for the sheriff is to make sure the inmates can’t escape and there is no violence in the jail and they are all treated within the guidelines of the constitution and the laws of Georgia," Pope said.
He called one of Ellis' perks unusual. The video shows a cell phone on a table full of Ellis' belongings.
"I don't know of any jail that would allow cell phones, but if this is a special situation, it must be temporary," he said.
Byfield learned after she put in her original open records request the jail staff moved Ellis to another floor.
She put in a request for video on that floor too.
In it, Ellis is seen pacing the hallway in an orange DeKalb County Jail jumpsuit.
"What is your message to the people at home who think this is special treatment?" Byfield asked Pope.
"It is unusual. It is up to the sheriff as they want to allow for their inmates to maintain order and keep the peace," he said.
Georgia law says inmates can have cellphones as long as a warden or superintendent says it is OK.
In response to Byfield's original request, Sheriff Mann referred to Ellis as a high-profile inmate.
The Sheriff's Office has not made anyone available to answer Channel 2's questions on camera.
Ellis is currently in state custody.
WSBTV
