HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER.Sheriff Joe Arpaio (in Arizona) who created the "tent city jail":
He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.
He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights. Cut off all but "G" movies.
He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.
Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination.
He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked! up the cable TV again only let in the Disney channel and the weather channel.
When asked why the weather channel he replied, so they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.
He cut off coffee since it has zero nutritional value.
When the inmates complained, he told them, "This isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back."
He bought Newt Gingrich' lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails.
When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.
More on the Arizona Sheriff:
With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record), the Associated Press reports: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed-wire-surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts.
On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 degrees inside the week before.
Many were also swathed in wet, pink towels as sweat collected on their chests and dripped down to their pink socks.
"It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the tents for 1 year. "It's inhumane."
Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!"
Way to go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves.
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Jeez, where to begin on this guy?
ReplyDeleteHe strikes me as eveything wrong with the prison industrial complex and law enforcement.
He is a caveman throwback grandstander.
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons. - Fyodor Dostoevsky
I wish this comment wasn't anonymous I'd like to ask why "he strikes you as what's wrong with the prison industrial complex and law enforcement."
ReplyDeleteBecause it is cruel and unusual punishment. Because you don't treat people inhumanly as a means of rehabilitating them to living in our society and not all "crimes" deserve to lead to this treatment (heck, I would argue that NONE do), and as far as I can tell this guy is not many any distinctions between people.
ReplyDeleteBecause he is a white man chaining people together to do work in a country where there is a disproportionate number of people in color in jail because of the fundamental racist nature of our legal system and because historically the U.S. has let the most marginalized people in danger to be sucked into a life of crime over and over again.
Also, the language classes strike me as awful. There is NO official language to the U.S. (nor should be). Other kinds of classes are a great idea, however - and I am totally in favor for providing access to resources that might help them avoid jail in the future.
Because there is no way that criminals from the upper eschalons of our twisted society will ever be treated this way when they commit the worst crimes - like robbing people of their life savings or retirement benefits, for example - or the best example, getting us embroiled in a war that leads to the deaths of 1000s of our young men and women or accidentally shooting a friend in the face when hunting while drunk. . .
- signed, never anonymous once you read my opinions. . . ;)
Yes how they are being treated can be considered inhumane but the crimes they committed could may have been inhumane as well.
ReplyDeleteObviously we can't go on a case by case basis as we don't have the facts but the areas that I do agree with no matter what the crimes are:
1. Cheap meals...I'm paying for these meals and I don't see why I should pay too much.
2. No smoking and porno. I'm not paying for these but this is not a country club where you get privileges.
3. Chain gangs. You committed a crime and now I can't trust you so in order for you to work on country and city projects you have to be chained together so you can be watched.
4. No Cable TV...do I even HAVE to say anything.
5. No Coffee....please...you they got it to begin with is beyond me...man can live on bread and water.
6. Newt Gingrich' lecture series...ok now this is unfair but what's fair about committing a crime.
7. Pink clothing....not sure about this one unless your crime humiliated someone then you deserve it.
And I totally agree with: "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!"
I've read about this guy before. And I TOTALLY agree with how he's running things. I feel like this, if the prisoners don't want to live that way...then don't commit crimes which in turn will keep you out of this or any prison system.
ReplyDeleteLove the pink boxer shorts :-).
Wow, I'd love to get in on this one. But I'm no where as well versed as you 2 are. However, I will say this...ANY type of crimal act done to another person, rather that be murder, rape, robbery,etc, deserves to be punishable by law. One could say that the way prisoners are treated is inhumane...but let's stop and think about the people the crimes were committed against. As BEM stated, we can go on and on about this and we will all still have to agree to disagree. I wonder, though, how these comments, mine included, would change if we, ourselves were victims of a crime -or one of our family members were victims. Would we feel differently about the "inhumanity"? But I guess if we or a family member is murdered by one of these guys, the color boxer shorts they were would be the least of our concerns.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, BEM!
I never heard about this guy until now and I agree with you, I wish that all jails were like this.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Dawn. I think this is fabulous. I don't live in America - I live in Canada. Where I live, people get away with stuff all the time. 2 years ago 3 teenage boys broke into my house, ransacked it and stole some of my stuff. I happened to walk in on them and thankfully they just ran away. When the dog cop found the stuff they had thrown while running there was a knife in their bag ( they were in the basement when I got home and could have very easily gotten it out and used it). these men got nothing. No jail time, no pay me for the damage they made in my house, nothing. That is nothing in comparison to the fact that murderers get less time then fraud - what is that - a life is less important to us then money is I guess. No on to my thoughts about jail. I personally think that they should not be allowed to vote and they should be working hard with no cable tv, no weight rooms and paying people back for their crimes - like the families of the victims. Jail should not be a cushy place to go and hang out and fight with other inmates. It should be a place you never ever want to go back to again. Okay, I'm done rambling.
ReplyDeleteKim
Wow! I read this post earlier this morning...and I decided to wait it out and see what everyone else was saying. I knew this was going to be HOT topic. I believe whole heartidly in what this man is doing. I don't think there's really anything "inhumane" about what he is doing. He's simply taking away privlages. That's right..privlages. It's not like he's taking away necessities of life. Is cofee necessary? No. Cable Tv??? Come on! .40 cents a meal? So what. When you buy in mass quanities, everything is cheap. It's probably a better meal than a lot of people get. This is what jail should be. To some of these folks our jails are probably better than their home life, you know? The Big House is not supposed to be somewhere you WANT to call home.
ReplyDeleteProbably the most inhumane thing this guy is doing is the whole heat thing. But HELLO it's Arizona. It's unavoidable.
He can keep the Newt tapes. That's just wrong. But I know that I don't appreciate paying for cable TV, workout equipment, and college educations for a bunch of convicts. If you don't like the conditions, don't do the things, or hang in the places, or chill with the jokers that can get your ass caught up.
ReplyDeletei most certainly DO agree with how this man is running this prison. i can't get over how inmates win certain rights quite frankly. i don't think that it should be ground breaking to have inmates working while they do their time. duh? the rest of us work. and some of us live and work in heat. it's uncomfortable but not likely deadly. as long as they're not denied water, i'm all for it.
ReplyDeleterather than say that he is a white man overseeing people of colour, how about we push for all prisons to be run as a variation of the same? i love the thought of all prisoners (no matter what the crime) actually working hard and being uncomfortable. it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. imagine the havoc that they have unleashed on someone else's life to get them in prison.
I think this guy got it right. Prison should not be luxurious.
ReplyDeleteI'm digging this dude...
ReplyDeleteI believe in "an eye for an eye" so hell he's even better than what I'd like to do!
While I think the Newt tapes might be cruel and unusual punishment... LOL... (I think ANY politician speaking on tape would be, not taking sides there!!) I can see the need for trying to rehab certain criminals. SOme people are behind bars and made a mistake, they can be given a chance to change, but then the chance to enjoy education and such should not be handed to them, they must work for it. If we don't work for things, we tend not to appreciate them. This is a complex and multi-faceted arguement, one that can't be solved in the space a blog allows. The bottom line is, prison should not be a vacation though, for anyone. We may not agree with the methods, but surely these inamtes are thinking twice about the cost of their crime.
ReplyDeleteJail isn't supposed to be comfortable. Discipline is just that...it's not a vacation!
ReplyDeleteI've often felt that if there truly seemed to be a "cost" for committing a crime then the crime rates would go down.
Do folk really believe prison is "luxurious"?
ReplyDeleteHave you spent time in prison or been to visit someone in prison?
Also, just for the record, the state does not buy the inmates porno magazines. . . usually there are set things the inmates (like books and magazines, cigarettes) can receive from the outside. .
I also want to say, more generally, that I believe this world will continue to move along its shitty path to bitter destruction unless we can *ALL* learn some serious lessons regarding forgiveness.
- O (who made the first comments)
great post. thought provoking. i happen to agree with not making prison fun and relaxing. some of these places allow prisoners to get law degrees while they are there. hello???i still have student loans to pay. BEM, you notice our little circle of friends seem to agree. maybe thats why we all gravitated towards eachother. love your new banner. and love that have the "b#lls" to put up a post that not everyone would agree with.
ReplyDeleteLook at that! I finally created an account so I don't have to comment anonymously anymore.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is a way to feed my actual blog into this system w/o having to post twice.
Okay, so The Newt thing probably IS cruel punishment.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I must say I totally agree with all of you here and you dear BEM. I was a Sociology student in college and spent more than enough time visiting prisons including a federal pen that was full of downright terrifying people who had committed unspeakable crimes.
I loved the quote about the troops in Iraq. Heck, has dear anon ever seen what troops in training go through? I have seen it all first hand.
I have also spent time with men and women in prison who actually enjoyed their time there. They found it easier *inside* than out. Yep, true. I see no reason not to allow some work training and finishing a GED but Law degrees and advanced college degrees with no cost involved to them? Hell, that is what *I* need then...what crime can I commit? *smile*
My basic dispute with anon is what he and I feel to be *inhumane* treatment. Of course there have been police & prison guards who conducted despicable acts. But what is so inhumane about forcing a criminal to work? It's hot? Ask those that work hard under nasty weather conditions every day if they feel their work is inhumane? Roofing, construction, highway work..how about fire fighters who bravely work in the baking heat in full protective gear. Inhumane? They rarely complain. It is their job and they do it with honor.
Inhumane is beating and torturing NOT pink shorts. Not hard work.
Now, don't get me started on the language classes...
Hugs to you BEM!
Sue
WOW this seems to be a hot topic...I'll say We need someone like that here in Philadelphia maybe, just maybe the crime and murder rate wouldn't be as high as it is.....Melanie I tagged u please check out mu blog
ReplyDeleteCynta
I am not sure how I feel about the contraversial topic... I agree with you that if more jails were like that then less people would commit crimes, but I can also see how many would think it was wrong. And as much as I like to think it would deter people, it might not. I did like his point about how that is how our soliders are living...that was good. actually now that i am
ReplyDeletewriting to you, they whole thing really does make sense.... I mean they should be punished, not able to do things they would do if they were sitting at home...
~ Aly
At first I was with you on everything, including the Newt issue. But on second thought I realized that this is also par for the course. In prison you don't get to choose. It is its very unpleasantness that makes you not want to come back or go there in the first place. Accordingly, prison should never be easy. (In line with that I don't agree with country club prisons for "white collar" criminals either.) However, then you get into our society's almost total lack of a support system for those who have served their time it is appalling. If the idea is for ex-cons to not return to prison then what are we doing to foster that. Many come out with no job prospects, no housing, no skills, and even unable to vote. However, for prison to be made so unpleasant that people (kids) don't want to go there, is a step in the right direction. Education is key if we are to regain any lost gro und. But with rap music, movies, and prison fashion currently in the ascendency, we have a long way to go (seen anyone wearing their pants under their butts lately?).
ReplyDelete~ George
I fail to see how the conditions U.S. soldiers in Iraq have to live in pertains to the subject of our prison system.
ReplyDeleteSome people are making it sound as if people actually decide to go into a life of crime in order to "enjoy" prison. As if the acts that lead to them getting there are predicated on wanting to get a free college education.
I am not saying people are actually saying that, but that is what is seems like - and that is fairly silly. It is not even as if some significant percentage of inmates get college degrees and become lawyers in prison.
In fact, *I* would use those troops, as another sign of the screwed up priorities of our society. I mean, there you have a lot folks that were hoping for money for college and job-training, and ended up having to be willing to kill and/or die for it.
Also, there is no evidence that tougher punishments for crimes actually deters crime whatsoever.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePlaying devils advocate (as i don't believe in the current war) the conditions U.S. soldiers in Iraq have to live is a visual aid to emphasis that if soldiers are willing to stand the heat and tents to possibly die for what they believe in then why can't an inmate live in the same conditions for a crime "he believed in".
ReplyDeleteI remain unconvinced that "belief" is a necessary condition for either fighting in the war or committing a crime.
ReplyDeleteIn both cases, it is far more likely to be an *apparent* practical consideration - if it is considered at all - that leads to such a choice.
Corey, I do not want to derail this discussion by talking about the war and the whether or not folks are dying in vain, but I will say that I *wish* I could believe what you said, but all evidence (both historically and in present day) seems to say otherwise. :(
War is always something horrible... but I dare say that those who suffered under oppression would not feel our troops fought or died *in vain* for them and their freedom. I am close to quite a few people who suffered greatly under the Nazi regime who will tell you your assumption is flawed. Wars are started by politicians and I have never believed in the current war in Iraq. But I do stand behind our troops. It is those men and women who are sent there and placed in harm's way so people like YOU can banter on here and sit back and decide that their mission is in vain and that prisioners should all be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. All human kind deserves respect but what about those who murder and rape and torture? Have they respected humankind? What is your plan is dealing with them?
ReplyDeleteI have not seen what you would do to overhaul our system.
I will not even attempt to argue with you as it is obvious that you love to do so.
You are free to believe how you wish but it is disrespect pure and simple to tell others that their opinions are incorrect or flawed.
I have studied history for years, was a military spouse for 27 years and worked in social work as well.
I doubt that you have read any studies that I have not or seen any
statistics that I have not read.
No one here ever said that people commit crimes to earn a law degree but I personally have worked with many who DID prefer prison over being on their own. F.A.C.T. I have also watched far too many of these people refuse to utilize the benefits available to them IE education/job training.
Is the prison system flawed? Of course. But to expect those who have committed a crime to work hard and re pay a debt to society is absolutely correct. I find it laughable that those in our jails have the amount of legal wrangling and free time and entertainment at their disposal that they do have.
Yes, I *have* been in prisons. Several of them. I have observed more evil than you can even imagine. But you think that NO crime deserves the sort of punishment that the sheriff in question dishes out. You remind me of the young man in one of my first criminology courses. To make a long story short, his opinions changed radically when his mother was brutally raped and killed by a man who decided that "she looked at him rudely" while she checked out his groceries. Just after he entered prison he told a reported that he looked forward to being *inside* so he could get his "3 squares" a day, a nice bed and meet some down time because "I hate my job and hate working for anyone. Prison should be real easy." He never asked for forgiveness nor did he express any.
You say you have read studies that show prison is not a deterrent?
I can show you studies that prove it is under the right circumstances. Those being ones that have tougher system in place.
Should there be a major overhaul? Of course.
But I, for one, will not be shedding any tears for a convicted criminal spending some time in hot conditions under a tent.
The comments first made about our troops were meant to be an analogy
and that for a criminal to live under better conditions than our troops or road crews or construction workers or fire fighters or...well, I guess we are all "just silly". Thank Heaven we have you to enlighten us huh?
And, for the record, I can put you in touch with thousands of men and women who did NOT join the military just to earn a cheap education. It is a earned BENEFIT, a reward for their service and they took advantage of it. Yes, some do join for that reason and it is sad that any lives are lost in battle. As a long time military family member I can tell you that OUR troops are NOT 100% behind this war but they serve because it is their job. Some of us do our jobs even when we find something to be objectionable.
There are those of us who quietly go about our days trying to do the right things and work for our community and keep our kids straight and educate ourselves without any assistance or complaint.
I have asked those convicted of a crime why they took this path. I have heard, more than a few time, that they did so "because I did not have a job or an education." I have asked those same folks why they did not consider the military as a way to improve themselves instead and guess what? The answer was the same across the board....the military is HARD! To tough...too many difficulties to face.
Should we provide assistance to those that serve their time well? Of course. They will have advantages at their disposal. Let's hope they make good use of those.
I am not going to debate this anymore as it is a lost cause anyway. I am considered quite liberal among my mates but you lost me with your generalized comments and saying that you feel no crime warrants that sort of punishment and that our troops have always fought and died in vain. Oh yeah...
and that there should be no official language in this country.
I would love to have you speak to the teachers pulling their hair out and those who deal with the public and are now forced to take language courses on THEIR time and dime because those new to this nation will NOT.
What is so wrong with asking a prisoner to study English as a means to better himself? For years and years our immigrants kept their cultures alive while they leaned the language spoken by the majority. My relatives were among those.
They did it gladly and without complaint. They were proud to be a part of this land and being part of it also means learning it's language. It was never an issue of declaring an *official* language in times past. Now, it may well be.
As a person who has lived in AZ and will again soon, I would vote for J.A.
ReplyDeleteI received an email that stated everything you did in your post and I forwarded it to everyone I know.
Another point, if anyone has ever been to AZ, they would see construction workers{a majority being Hispanic} building establishments everyday, all over the city. Law abiding citizens, who chose to go out and get a job, who choose everyday to work in the 115 degree+ weather, rather than commit crimes.
I think it's fabulous that prisoners have to be subject to humiliation, hard work, and earning their keep. It's probably been a first for a lot of them.
Proud to call you my friend, Chrissy
Oh yes!! They do work hard and go about living their lives and raising their families!
ReplyDeleteThey become wonderful citizens of this land. I have lived all over the US. North and South CA, Texas, North and Central FL, VA, IL, NY, TN, and a lot in between those!
I have met so many wonderful people from all walks of life, all cultures and backgrounds. Wonderful!
Most folks do the right things by their families and their neighbors.
So, what would our friend have is do with those that do not?
He quoted Dostoevsky in the first comment. But that was written in reference to Russian prisoners long ago who were starved, beaten, left to fester in filth and left to die. I don't see a lot of that happening in our prisons...starvation is not the usual, Paris Hilton's complaints about the food inside not with standing!
And I do hope my comments about the language were not taken as me being against anyone who is not a native English speaker. Those that know me know my children were not! : )
Neither were some of my relatives,
some dear friends, neighbors and co workers.
But asking non English speaking prisoners to study English as a way to help better themselves, in a country that speaks English predominantly, does not seem cruel and unusual punishment!
When I visit France, I learn some French, while in China I tried to speak the best Chinese I could!
If I moved to another country permanently I would learn the predominant language! It is respect and to better myself. Why not?
I worked in the schools too many years and know what they face with language. It is terribly difficult for the staff in so many places.
I also see people around the world learning English...in China they try to practice their English every chance they get! They do not see it as cruel!
Don't we all love living in a free society that allows us the opportunity to express ourselves and banter such ideas? Don't we all love Chrissy for it as well!
Hugs to all,
Sue
We saw a special on TV about him. BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThen he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination.
LOL--LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
If they don't like it, don't come back! I heard that.