A Friend of mine (S.W.) sent this to me in an e-mail, I thought like most of the e-mails I receive of this caliber that it's probably not all true, if any. So I looked it up and Damned if it's not true, or at least most of it from what I can tell. If you would like to read more about it go to:
http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/27/tough.sheriff/
(Blogger sucking the way it does sometimes would not let me post a Link or the Image the way I wanted to)
TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER.
THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY:
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.
posted by Chuck at
11:48 AM
6 Comments:
You'd think Joe's hard-line tactics would be a deterrent to crime, but I've not noticed any decline in crime. Maricopa County (the county I live in) is still riddled with crime. We had two serial killers on the lose just a few months ago, car theft is rampant, home invasions are a big problem. K's had 3 vehicles stolen. We've been burglarized once. I faced a mad man with a gun outside of a bar. We've had people shooting 12-gauge shotguns in broad daylight in our old neighborhood.
Oh yeah, one thing the article didn't mention is that the Maricopa County Jail houses abused animals in air conditioned comfort, when the jail became to crowded they moved the prisoners to the tent city and used the jail for temporary housing abused dogs.
I haven't seen any chain gangs since we moved, but they were used regularly in my old neighborhood. It was strange to see women in striped prison garb, chained together at the ankle, cleaning irrigation ditches and clearing weeds from the roadsides.
I have a feeling Joe's job is very secure in Arizona.
azcg - it's kind of funny that you live in that same county, of all the places in arizona. i 'm not sure, are you saying that you approve of joe's tactics or not, the feeling i got about him was people either loved him or hated him. i hope all is well with you and yours, i'll yack at ya later.
Well, I have real mixed emotions on this. Most of these offenders are short term and thus only get a small dose. But for some reason, I really researched this and found a lot of things I just don't agree with such as serving rotten bologna as they claim. A deterrent to crime is one thing but I do believe going to jail is surely bad enough w/o ALL that a person faces in one of his tent cities. OK, I agree that if our army can do it, so can the inmates but what they're fed is probably the only thing I disagree with. They are fed worse than a dog. Cutting off cable and smoking and so on is fine. I think my only problem is the food issue. You could feed them things, cheaply without being abusive and that's what it is. It's easy for people to sit back and glorify this guy because he does keep the costs down UNTIL, it's your ass in a sling. Never think that it can't happen to you and always make your judgement on how you'd feel. Jail is terrible and people suffer. No, they should not make it easy or comfortable but feed the people.
I'm not sure how I feel about Joe, I've never been in jail, I don't know what its like. My parents were adament about honesty, working hard, being respectful, earning what you have, and respecting other's belongings. If my father ever caught me stealing I'm sure Joe's Tent City would be an easier punishment than what my Dad would have doled out.
I did look up additional facts about Tent City and they provide only two meals a day. A nutritionist was hired to make sure that the food they do get is healty and provides all daily nutritional requirements. The comment of rotten food and green bologna comes from the prisoners, and I'm sure the cold cuts they are served are not "Boars Head" or "Hormel" it probably more like the bologna I grew up eating, you know the stuff in the red plastic casings with little cruncy bits in it. As for the oppressive heat, when I was a kid there were very few swamp coolers in Arizona and air conditioning was unheard of for the middle class and poor. You just had to deal with the heat the best you could, we used to soak out bed sheets in water and slept outside where it was cooler.
babs - i agree, jail should not be easy but at least you should be fed some what. i'd hate to be treated like that for just being poor and having no other choice.
azcg - i didn't need jail as a kid, my parents were deterent enough even though i pushed the limits as far as i could, i'd hate to have gone to jail over traffic violations and be treated like that, i guess i'll just stay out of arizona.
Oh yeah, I forgot there is also a canteen available where prisoners can buy chips, candy, and other assorted treats. I guess as long as you have family willing to give you money you can have a few extras.
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