Note to jailbirds: No watching Cam Newton, Panthers in the Super Bowl at York Co. jail

If you happen to be in custody in York County on Sunday, you might consider yourself better off already having been convicted – if you want to watch the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl.

The 90-some inmates at the York County Prison will be allowed to watch the big game on two televisions in the dormitory.

But for more than 300 inmates at the York County Detention Center and the Rock Hill City Jail, there will be no Super Bowl on TV.

The difference?

The TVs at the jails aren’t set up to receive the local CBS affiliate, which will broadcast the game.

The televisions at the York County Prison are not flat screens but old-school 26-inch color TVs, prison administrator James Ramsey said. As for who decides what to watch? Majority rules.

Inmates at the county prison, which is managed by the county Public Works Department, already have been convicted and are serving sentences of 90 days or less. Some are Family Court defendants who did not pay court-ordered child support or fulfill other Family Court obligations.

Prison inmates work in jobs – some cooking the food for both the prison and the jail, some in the laundry for both places, others doing various chores.

The county jail, meanwhile, houses people who have been arrested and are awaiting trial. It is operated by the Sheriff’s Office. Likewise, the city jail holds those arrested by Rock Hill officers before they are taken to the county jail.

In Chester County, where the jail is run by the sheriff’s office, inmates will be able to watch the game if they want, Chief Deputy Robert Sprouse said. Lancaster County jail inmates who are not on lockdown also have TV privileges, said Doug Barfield, spokesman for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.

Andrew Dys: 803-329-4065

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 9:09 AM with the headline "Note to jailbirds: No watching Cam Newton, Panthers in the Super Bowl at York Co. jail."