Hall County Board of Commissioners Chairman Richard Mecum has a perspective on crime and law enforcement formed by his role as former sheriff. “A lot of people used to ask me ‘why are people in jail?’ And they thought I would respond, ‘drugs,’ or something, but what I would say is it really comes down to an inability to control your own emotions,” he said. “With the veterans, they’re coming out of a violent-type situation, and often times they may make an error: Should you have to hold that against them for the rest of their life?