But like many of the inmates at the county's Ferris Huber Center, a jail for those with work- and school-release privileges, the 49-year-old former hospital employee and painter wants to clear up public misconceptions about "doing time in county."

"A lot of people stereotype everyone," Sparkman says, sipping on a tall French vanilla blend from the jail's gourmet coffee machine. "There are some good people here. We all make poor decisions. No one is perfect in life."