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From: plrlegal
Date: 08-05-2003, 10:15 AM (1 of 7)
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This facility is located in Arizona for those of you who would have no need to know the location. 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 you are in a furnace," said James Zanzo't, 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, is not sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told the inmates: "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths." Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it? Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: Ann Made
Date: 08-05-2003, 12:25 PM (2 of 7)
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I agree with the sherriff. And then they should think about the firefighters who are trying to contain out of control fires which cover hundreds of acres and work 12 hours a day in 100F weather plus the heat of the fire. They didn't cause the problem but are trying to stop the destruction caused by the fire. They are lucky to have a tent to live in; some people lost everything to the fires. Ann PS - I am glad he makes them wear pink. (LOL) Learning is a journey, not a race.
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User: Ann Made
Member since: 04-07-2001 Total posts: 67 
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From: MaryW
Date: 08-05-2003, 12:45 PM (3 of 7)
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My husband and I watched a show on this sheriff and his tent idea. He made some very valid points. My husband shook his head and agreed with most of what was said. It never showed pink anything though. The sheriff explained how much money was saved using tents versus any other type of structure. My husband always said the prisoners should be put to work as well. They could be cleaning along highways, parks, anything but sitting idle in a cell. MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542 
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From: Chrysantha
Date: 08-05-2003, 12:57 PM (4 of 7)
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Down here in FL we have 'club fed' one of those Federal Prisons they send 'big wigs' to.....they DO work outside, in the heat, they earn .40 cents a day. They also get t.v., computers, visits from family, nice khakis and t-shirts to wear. (along with their orange vests that say D.C. on the back) They take care of all the landscaping on Eglin AFB, where they live in comfort....I think like the AZ sheriff...put'em in pink and in the heat, why make them comfortable when others suffer and they don't.
Chrys
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User: Chrysantha
Member since: 09-06-2002 Total posts: 2414 
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From: Ann Made
Date: 08-05-2003, 02:05 PM (5 of 7)
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I agree that these guys should be working. Just outside of Kamloops there is a prison and it is a farm. The inmates work it (farming the land, haying, fencing, cattle) and if their crime is a mild one and they have the experience, they get to do the night shift calving. A young fellow we know did time there and he said he worked hard during his stay in there. In the federal prisons, they need to crack down on what the inmates are allowed. I get upset when they get to take a full degree in prison at my expense. And the extras they get that many can't afford. Blows my brains off. Hard work and a trade is about what they need. Ann Learning is a journey, not a race.
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User: Ann Made
Member since: 04-07-2001 Total posts: 67
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From: MaryW
Date: 08-07-2003, 10:55 AM (6 of 7)
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Not only that, but we pay people good money for so many jobs that could be done by these inmates. The whole system is flawed, but it's all we have. And another thing while I am on this rant. We have the Young Offenders Act here. Kids are shooting policemen, killing one another and other very serious crimes. They are not accountable until they are of age. This is very wrong. I also think some parents let their kids run wild, then when they get into trouble they say the cops are picking on them. Parents should be held accountable for their kids crimes to a certain degree. Now before you jump all over me, I know some kids are beyond reasoning with, but I really think in a lot of cases, the parents could take more responsibility for their kids actions. They wouldn't be so quick to let them run free if they had to answer for some of their actions. I have seen firsthand what happens when kids are let go. Their macho father let them have guns for hunting. This lead to one of their buddies having his head blown off. No one watching, no one was keeping track of where they were or what they were doing. No one was around and no one will ever be the same because of this. These boys weren't 16 yet, what are boys doing with guns and no supervision at that age? Ok, I'm done. MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542
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From: weB2cats
Date: 08-19-2003, 03:04 AM (7 of 7)
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Inhumaine crimes warrant time spent in inhumaine conditions. Why send good men after bad? Let the prisoners do some real tough time doing something other than draining state finances that could be put to better use, say education of our children. The legal system also plays a major role in draining the system. Look at the trials of accused murders such as OJ Simpson, the Scott Peterson trial and the coming of the Christain Longo case-all accused murders (and admittted murders in the Longo case of his 3 children and wife). What a waste of time, money and resources that could be put to better use- say, mental health care, care for the elderly, etc. It just makes one so agitated. There should just be a standard law that anyone accused of certain crimes gets no trial, doesn't pass go, and doesn't waste our resources. A prisoner on death row in need of a heart transplant was one of the events that had us fuming here. Should the cost of his transplant be passed over in favor of care for prenatal care and infant care? That doesn't seem like such a hard decision to me. |
User: weB2cats
Member since: 11-07-2002 Total posts: 232 |
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