POLK COUNTY, Ore. – When paroled sex offender (search) Robert Marshall was released from prison, he returned to Polk County, Ore., expecting the government to help pay for a place for him to live. But it's a check county officials refused to write.
"I was raised to believe that criminals owe a debt to society, not the other way around," said Polk County Commissioner Phil Walker.
Marshall and several other Polk County offenders have landed in a shelter in neighboring Marion County, which offers housing help to parolees (search). That's led to a border feud over who’s responsible for the convicts.
Oregon operates under what's known as the "send 'em home law," (search) which requires parolees to return to the county where they were living when they committed the crime and stay there for at least six months. But while counties are forced to keep tabs on their ex-cons, no law requires them to pay for their housing.
The state government is threatening to strip Polk County of its entire corrections budget — about $2 million per year — if it can't come to terms with its neighbors in Marion County
Click on the video box at the top of this story to watch a report by FOX News' Dan Springer.
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