Dorsey trial witness held over in jail

DECATUR - The key witness in the upcoming trial of former DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey will remain in jail until Sept. 2.

Former DeKalb deputy Patrick Cuffy, who said he arranged the Dec. 15, 2000 assassination of Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown on orders from Dorsey, is serving a one-year sentence for evidence tampering.

Cuffy could have been released on Tuesday with time off for good behavior, but Sheriff Tom Brown said that considering ``the totality of the offense he has committed against society, he should serve every day that the judge has sentenced him to.''

Cuffy, 37, got immunity for testifying against Dorsey when the former sheriff's murder and racketeeting trial begins next week in Albany. He also testified against two other men accused of taking part in Brown's murder. They were acquitted.

Keith Adams, Cuffy's lawyer, said it was unfair that his client would not get time off his misdemeanor sentence.

``" when they're there, not based on anything else,'' Adams said.

But the discretion to provide good-time credit is up to the sheriff.

``It's very easy to behave yourself in jail when you have an isolated cell,'' said Brown, who is not related to the slain sheriff-elect.