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The Way Jail Ought To Be

This checks out to be true and is not a hoax. It would never happen here on the Left Coast but I can dream. Is it any wonder that this guy gets 85% of the vote every time he runs for re-election?

Subject: My Kind of Sheriff


Sheriff Joe Arpaio (in Arizona) who created the tent city jail has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.

He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. He took away their weights, and 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, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìSo they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.?¢‚Ǩ?

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's 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 1/2 years. "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
 

Andykev

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
4,118
Location
The Beautiful Diablo Valley
It is true

Nice. It is an old article from about the first Gulf War. There has since been lawsuits and there was a piece on TV about the jail and that Sheriff.

He may be on the extreme side..but it strikes a chord with many taxpayers.
 
Re: It is true

Originally posted by Andykev
He may be on the extreme side..but it strikes a chord with many taxpayers.

Extreme? The criminals are lucky they don't have me as sheriff. LOL I would make this guy look like Jimmy Carter. ;)
I can assure you that the recidivism rate in his area is almost nil. The criminals really do make a run for the state border when they are released. LOL

Regards to all,

J
 
I don't know about the motives of John Dougherty. From what I gather he is a little far to the left in his columns and probably would like nothing better than to get rid of a force that proves everything he believes is wrong. Considering this is also happening during an election cycle, I also distrust the motives of his opponent. A person spearheading a campaign against an entrenched opponent might just try something like this. Believe me, I know how it is done. ;)

regards to all,

J
 

havershaw

Practically Family
Messages
716
Location
mesa, az
I know what you mean. But locally, there are a lot more folks who have less-than-kind things to say about Arpaio. I've been hearing these kinds of things for years, regardless of whether or not it's an election year. This year, Joe is really fighting (even running ads on TV - something not often done in local elections) for his title in the wake of a year or two of heavy scandal involving mistreatment of prisoners (and many, MANY 'lost' or 'misplaced' security tapes) and other, more financially-oriented mishaps. I just don't care for the fact that Joe is a big spotlight-hound. A friend of mine worked for him once and she said the only thing Joe really, truly seemed to care about was how much airtime or ink he was able to get.

I really like his being tough on prisoners - but I wish he were less...how can I put this...showboat-y.

We also have a lot of cops getting shot here...one theory I've heard is because criminals are willing to kill to stay out of Tent City. A friend of mine is a Mesa cop and not happy about Tent City, because he says a common criminal getting busted for something not serious will often shoot at police and run to avoid getting sent to Tent City. When the stakes are higher for the criminal, the stakes are also higher for the police. (I'm not saying we should be easier on criminals, by any means - just offering a different point-of-view.)

Dougherty has been writing anti-Joe stuff for years and years. I definitely disagree with a lot of the way he phrases things - sometimes he can be disturbingly, almost painfully leftist and liberal. Band I've read about the Mesa Hilton in a couple different places - it really bothers me. Any time that campaign contributors get preferential treatment, it infuriates me. If you're busted, you go to jail - the crummy jail, not the nice one. I don't like the 'one hand will wash the other' philosophy. Whether or not Joe has done anything wrong...I hear time and time again that
 
Interesting. I will have to take that into consideration. I am not that hot on preferential treatment for paying prisoners either. I just hope the persoin who eventually replaces him doesn't go all ACLU on the prisoners. Those lunches will certainly cost more than .40. :D

Regards to all,

J
 

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