Sometimes… good deeds do go noticed. And for six Georgia inmates, their good deed brought them closer to freedom.
Even though some inmates might resent those who keep them in line while behind bars, these inmates came to the aid of a Polk County deputy when he fell ill.
Now Polk County Sheriff Johnny Moats said he plans to reduce the sentences of those inmates.
“They could have taken the gun, got the work van and gone,” Moats told TIME. “They could have done anything they wanted. They were out there by themselves with this one officer. If they would have left him there, it could have been hours before anyone came across him.”
The deputy reportedly didn’t feel well when he woke up on the morning of June 12 and the 100 percent humidity didn’t help either. He was working at a cemetery with the six inmates who he oversees seven hours a day, five days a week.
He began to have a fit of coughing that seemed to make his body temperature rise. Eventually, he collapsed and started to hyperventilate and gasp for air.
His men immediately sprung into action by opening his shirt, removing his bulletproof vest and performing CPR. Another inmate used the deputy’s cell phone to call 911.
“None of my guys ran,” the deputy, who asked to remain unnamed told 11 Alive. “None of them did anything they shouldn’t have done.”
The deputy believes that a condition he has called Chiari malformation, which causes fluids to not flow properly due to a deform cerebellum, is what caused his episode.
“When that happened, in my opinion, it wasn’t about who is in jail and who wasn’t,” inmate Greg Willians told 11 Alive. “It was about a man going down and we had to help him.”
Moats says it is his common practice to reward inmates with reduced time for good deeds done and that he is extremely proud of their efforts.
According to TIME, the deputy’s rescue came just a few days after two other Georgia inmates escaped after killing two prison guards.
“That moment when they’re out, they’re not really inmates to you,” the deputy said. “They’re just a group of guys and you’re out. You try to be more like friends and in my case, it just worked out for the better.”
Moats said this mentality is exactly why those inmates came to the officer’s aid.
“They really stepped up in a time of crisis and show that they care about my officers,” Moats told 11 Alive. “That really speaks a lot about my officers too, how they treat these inmates. They treat them like people. Like family.”
In addition to having their prison sentences shortened, they were also treated to dessert and some pizza in the park.
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