Just saw the chain gang on duty picking up litter and I thought to myself (Phoenix: houses, DMV)

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by sindey

Nutritional meals eh? You sure about that?

Yes. Positive

And the American Dietitic Association has so certified it

And, if one is arrested, by any local jurisdiction, the County Jail is where they go.

[sindey]

Originally Posted by JERSEY MAN

Sheriff Joe should receive a medal. We need more guys like him to let the inmates know that jail isn't cool. I wish every county in the country had a guy like him. They should send the inmates to Guantonomo Bay in Cuba than they would realize how good they have it in this country. Prison is supposed to be a deterrent not a place to watch cable. Give them bread and water once a day and most likely the dirtbags won't want to come back.

What the hell is it with you guys from NJ?
The sheriff is from NJ also but, ya sure wouldn't know it with his cowboy like tactics.
I wish your county had him too.

Mistakes are made everyday and I can only hope that by chance YOU would have to spend some time with him and his cronies. Maybe you could spend some time in his restraint chair chatting or have some officers find you with both kness and ankles broken after 2 days and have it explained to YOUR family how you fell out of bed.

You are also wrong about his recidivism rate as well.
The sheriffs policies are NO deterrent to inmates returning to the system.

Only a SIC individual would suggest sending county inmates to Guantanamo Bay.
Torture does not equal disipline as I have said before.

[sindey]

Originally Posted by Greatday

Yes. Positive

And the American Dietitic Association has so certified it

And, if one is arrested, by any local jurisdiction, the County Jail is where they go.

Well I happen to have heard different about the meals.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by sindey

Well I happen to have heard different about the meals.

Well - you heard wrong

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by sindey

The sheriff is from NJ also but, ya sure wouldn't know it with his cowboy like tactics.

Massachusetts, actually -- even more unlikely than NJ given his image, but that's where he grew up.

[Kevin Beasley]

Originally Posted by sindey

You may change your mind if somehow by mistake you got caught up in something and had to spend some time there.

I find most of the people who are bitter towards Joe and Tent City have done time there and are not repentent of their behaviour. I felt the same way towards him when I was a tweaker. I did a stint of 11 mos in the tents, and never once got sick from the food. Even though the bologna was green (caused by water exposure to the meat, not harmful in anyway) The kitchens were kept spotless, and the food preperation and servin lines were strictly supervised. The time was hard, and yes the guards wer jerks at times, but hey consequences cure criminals.

[blisterpeanuts]

First and foremost, the U.S. constitution mandates freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. That and the presumption of innocence should be our guiding principles in the incarceration system.

Broken kneecaps, rape, beatings--these treatments are illegal and absolutely do not have a place in the American penal system. We're not Communist China or Soviet Russia or Al Qaeda or Malaysia or Turkey, where maltreatment of prisoners is common and accepted.

But that doesn't mean that jails and prisons have to be spas or country clubs. Basic food, basic clothing, clean water, and a clean cell--that's all that anyone needs or deserves.

As for work gangs--gee, if I were a convicted prisoner I would rather be out in the fresh air doing hard labor than sitting around in a cell. Those who are so concerned about the feelings of prisoners--oh, my, aren't they humiliated? how sad! how cruel!--I remind you of the victims--were they not treated cruelly? Does a rapist or a murderer deserve more attention than, say, the family of the person who was snuffed out in the prime of life, or the woman who was raped, who are basically interrogated by the cops and lawyers for a few days and then sent home to suffer for the rest of their lives? The great pathology of the American justice system in the last 35 years is a tendency to care too much for the perpetrators and to utterly neglect or even mistreat the victims.

Once while browsing in a university library I came across this book about crime in America written by some sociologist in the 1970s. With regard to criminals, she said something like this: their crimes are our crimes; we are the criminals; it's not their fault but society's fault that they committed these acts. This is the elite view of crime that has infected American scholars since the mid 20th century. In my opinion we have to rid the educational and political system of people who think this way before they destroy our society.

It's not just criminals they apologize for. They even defend Al Qaeda--"oh, I'm against killing, and I feel 9/11 was an atrocious act, but, well, I sort of understand why they did it, since we sort of deserved it, you know....Bush is evil....Israel's the real problem..." This kind of thinking is not uncommon in places like Cambridge, believe me.

I would like to see a reversion to proper priorities: care a little more about the victims and administer tough but fair justice to perps. Yes we have to protect the rights of all Americans but that should not include cable TV, nice gyms, casual clothes, and internet access.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by blisterpeanuts

Does a rapist or a murderer deserve more attention than, say, the family of the person who was snuffed out in the prime of life, or the woman who was raped, who are basically interrogated by the cops and lawyers for a few days and then sent home to suffer for the rest of their lives? The great pathology of the American justice system in the last 35 years is a tendency to care too much for the perpetrators and to utterly neglect or even mistreat the victims.

Some good observations here, but there is always a tendency to forget the limited scope and mission of Sheriff Joe's jails. Sheriff Joe knows this and plays it to his political advantage. Convicted murderers and rapists are usually in state prisons, which are not under the sheriff's control. The appropriateness of Sheriff's Joe's programs and rhetoric should always be considered in light of the actual inmate population under his control: DUI offenders, those convicted of lesser offenses, those denied or unable to post bail, etc. If you believe those groups should be handled firmly as a way of shocking them out of a life of crime, then your argument is consistent and reasonable, but let's not talk about Sheriff Joe in terms of murderers and rapists since they're generally not serving their sentences in county jails.

[blueeyz911]

Originally Posted by nickluva

I can't wait until I get the HELL out of this state......that's all

Someone has to clean up for the filthy slobs that litter.

[blisterpeanuts]

Originally Posted by silverbear

Some good observations here, but there is always a tendency to forget the limited scope and mission of Sheriff Joe's jails. Sheriff Joe knows this and plays it to his political advantage. Convicted murderers and rapists are usually in state prisons, which are not under the sheriff's control. The appropriateness of Sheriff's Joe's programs and rhetoric should always be considered in light of the actual inmate population under his control: DUI offenders, those convicted of lesser offenses, those denied or unable to post bail, etc. If you believe those groups should be handled firmly as a way of shocking them out of a life of crime, then your argument is consistent and reasonable, but let's not talk about Sheriff Joe in terms of murderers and rapists since they're generally not serving their sentences in county jails.

I see, I didn't realize that. I guess I am in favor of the "shock therapy" approach, like boot camps for first time juvenile offenders.

The criminal justice system will never be fair since as you point out, some go to jail merely because they can't post bail. I don't think that people arrested under suspicion of committing a crime should be treated the same as people convicted of a crime--too many mistakes have been made. At the same time--how do you motivate young borderline men from crossing the line into criminality if not with a certain amount of humiliation and "taking them down a peg". Having gone to jail may be a cool and empowering badge of honor in certain gangland circles, but working on a chain gang in bright orange in full view of the public surely is not.