Estrella Jail/ Sheriff Joe Arpaio ripoff civil rights violator of the worst kind, worst excuse for a human mistreatment of others to get elected the public should only know Phoenix Arizona *EDitor's Comment .. Sheriff brags money he saved the people, liar sheriff said didn't cost tax payers anything. truth is the insurance was only for one million dollars, tax payers paid the other 7+ million

When it is you they are treating like scum, and you who's rights are being denied, then you will see what we are talking about. When you are forced to admit guilt to a crime you did not commit or sit rotting in jail, then you will understand.

No one deserves to be treated the way Joe Arpaio and his regime treat their non-sentenced, un-convicted, untried prisoners. Even those who are guilty of the crimes they are arrested for do not deserve to be treated as if they are not human. You are a monster is you think otherwise and just as guilty as he is for the crimes he commits against people. Sherrif Joe Arpaio is the only criminal that belongs in his jail.

I hate to blow your little dream world to bits, Robert. But not everyone against the Jabberin JA (we have our own fill-in for the initials) are family of, or convicts. Many of us are simple residents, many are former employees (see www.arpaio.com) and many of us are state and county employees. We are as much against this blowhard, egomaniac as the families are. He has cost us millions, and will continue to do so as long as he breaths in his glass tower.
You know nothing about this idiot and unless you have had the misfortune of living with the constant threat of his regime, you never will. It makes no difference what political leaning you claim, we aren't all democrats that are against him either. We come from all classes, creeds, races, and political parties.
Do us all a favor and don't continuously spout off about something you know nothing about.

Just because I don't walk the same line as you doesn't mean I'm not a Libertarian. I believe anyone should do what they want SOCIALLY as long as I don't have to be responsible for them FISCALLY. That, in a nutshell, is the basics of Libertarianism. The rest of the issues are up to interpretation.

If you don't want to wear a helmet on a motorcycle, great, enjoy the ride.
When your head hits the pavement, don't ask me to pay your bill.

The official Party Policy on the war is that it's not right. I for one, would rather blow THEM up in their countries, than have them blow US up in ours again. I also want the Fair Tax instituted and the current tax programs eliminated. Haven't read about too many Reps or Dems who like that idea. I have no problem with privatising the prison system. I just don't want prisoners coddled. I have no problem with prisoners living in GP Tents. I lived in them for many a moon when I was in the Marines. Even Joe refers to the troops with regards to the tents.

I read the articles you asked me to read. They made good reading. But, alas, it was like trying to compare the Wall Street Journal to the Village Voice. Both make fine points, but from opposite ends of the spectrum. I never meant to suggest that Hege was right in what he was doing(making money) but that he was correct in how to clean up his county. Since his departure, the crime rate in Davidson County has shot up. Wonder why? I notice that the guy your weekly paper wanted to beat Joe lost the primary. No problem if you REALLY want him gone. Start working to remove him at the voting booth. He trounced his primary opponent 44%-31% but that still left 26% of the Republicans NOT voting for either of them. If all Joe can get are his 44% of the core voters, he should lose handily. If he wins, it's because the people want him to remain. Start getting the info you have out there to the voters. Do the grassroots thing and go door to door. Get an ad in the paper, all of them.

This website is great and offers alot of good info on real problem companies. I applaud you for doing this. But when a bunch of criminals and their families are the ONLY ones crying about the treatment in Jail, most people will "consider the source". As I recall, and my memory may not be the best, the tents were originally bought because the prisoners rioted in a normal Jail. He provided them with the tents and had evaporative A/C units in them. Again, the prisoners rioted, as they do very often there, and destroyed the A/C units. I get my information on this from perusing several sources, including the ACLU websites and bothe Liberal and Coservative sites, and a variety of newspapers, both mainstream and alternative. Good luck trying to unseat him, but even the Liberal writers don't give it much of a chance since Saban was beaten. Peace out brother.

Robert



Let me clarify a couple of points you made: I believe if you do not follow society's rules, you should be punished commenserate with the violation committed. The punishment is, being taken out of our society, being put away in jail. Being in jail is the punishment. Our Sheriff Joe thrives on publicity and has worked hard to come up with his own standards above and beyond the Judge's decision, which fall well below the standards practiced across the US and maybe even some Third World countries.



I agree, county jails should be a place that are unpleasant enough that you don't want to go back, but if someone were to become ill, they should be able to see a doctor immediately, and not weeks later. If an inmate has a tooth problem, they should be able to see a dentist. Convicted or not convicted inmates should also have this provided as a service furnished by Maricopa County or the state; inmates caught malingering should also be punished. On the other hand, correctional officers who deny the proper care to the inmates should be severely punished for the abuse of the inmates civil rights, denying them their civil liberties, under color of law. Since that is unlikely, this abuse will continue well into the 21st century.



I have known some inmates personally, who were not convicted of any crime, who have encountered life-threatening issues and were refused help while in Sheriff Joe's jail, treated worse than animals, and suffered serious, permanent damage to their health. I believe it is the Judge who hands down the sentence and the Sheriff or his officers should never be involved in passing out any added punishment unless additional misbehavior occurs, but, under no circumstances should there be any inhuman punishment, which seems to run rampant under Sheriff Joe's care. Only 2 meals a day and the poor excuse for food is a severe health violation that should be addressed by the state and Federal Authorities immediately. The list of inhumane violations could be a book.



Keep in mind, about 80% of the inmate population in Sheriff Joes Jail has NOT been convicted of a crime. IF they have been found guilty, are there for something as minor as probation violation, or could be as simple as awaiting a bail hearing. Even if they were a high-risk murderer, they have not been convicted yet and would not deserve the the inhumane treatment Sheriff Joe allows his Sheriffs to dish out.



FACT: Even convicted criminals coming from State Prisons awaiting to go to local court will have a brief stay in at Sheriff Joes; it is common knowledge that prision inmates cannot wait to get their court hearing over with and get back to prison.



If you want to read some recent amazing stories about Sheriff Joe, read the articles below published by the New Times, a weekly newspaper known in Arizona for their excellent journalism and thorough investigative reporting.



http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2004-09-02/news/dougherty.html



http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2004-08-05/news/feature.html



Rob, you stated above, "as for my being a Republican, good guess. Actually, I am a Libertarian. I haven't voted for a Rep or a Dem in a long time. Wait, I have. I vote for Ed Brown every time he runs. He's a Dem. "



OK, possibly a bad guess on my part, but Rob, if you are indeed a Libertarian, how could you possibly support the kind of behavior documented by the facts surrounding the corrupt Sheriff Joe and his tortuous jail? Your position makes no sense. A Libertarian would never support the repressive tactics presented. If you were purely in favor of only saving taxpayers money, why not innovations which privatize the jail functions and actually make money? Why defend the Sheriff and not look for alternatives... like a true Libertarian? I don't buy the Libertarian affiliation.



BOTH REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATS SEEM TO DELIGHT...

After more consideration, I realize that both Republican AND Democrats seem to delight in the fact that Sheriff Joe is putting the thumbscrews to people who are confined to his care, regardless if their offense is real or alledged. Sheriff Joe boasts that "I will make it so miserable that they will not want to come back to MY jail,..."



THE CRIME RATE HAS NOT DROPPED ...

Well here is a news flash for you Joe, you bloated baboon; 1. It is not YOUR jail, 2. If you were to go out into your tent city and take a survey, you would find that none of those people wanted to be there in the in the first place, let alone return, 3. Most citizens find Joe's antics deplorable, but it is the tendency of Americans to abhor change, because they are lazy, and last, the only thing that your tent city has done is serve as a publicity bandwagon. The crime rate has not dropped and your recidivism rate is as high as it ever was. You have taken us one step closer to the Roman Coliseum, where simple-minded people took pleasure in the agony of their fellow man.



PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT...

On another note, maybe slightly off the subject. I think our criminal justice system stinks in general. No surprise there I guess, what else would I think being the founder of Rip-off Report. Nationwide Prosecutors lie and hide evidence that would hurt their case just to get a conviction. These actions are more the norm and more common than not and those attorneys, who are caught doing this are rarely ever punished, because they are part of the legal system that protects this corruption. Something needs to be done to change this, too. Those attorneys who violate this public trust should be severely punished when it is without question and there is evidence of prosecutorial misconduct...



DEATH SENTANCE...

People convicted and sentenced to Death (this gets me sick) in the US are convicted many times by more than one jury trial. After the inhumane death sentence is handed down; only to find out, sometime later, they were not guilty, often because the prosecutor lied or they did not hand over critical evidence during discovery. DNA testing is responsible, in most cases, where those convicted have been cleared.



"HOMELAND SECURITY ACT" A GOVERNMENT RUSE TO AMERICANS...

What is our government coming to? Now with the new "Homeland Security Act" ..you can certainly expect the situation to get even worse with respect to the continuing loss of our civil rights. US citizens need to read about this new law they claim is temporary. This new law goes way overboard and needs immediate limitations and overhaul. The idea is good and a necessity in today's climate, but it is so excessive that it violates the universal liberties Americans stand for and have worked for .



NOTE: The privitization issue was raised to show that the guy was not libertarian. That is what a libertarian might suggest. The suggestion was used to mock the whole Sheriff Joe situation, a la Daniel Defoe's political satire. "If you're going to make money at this jail thing... let's do it right. Make big money, Joe! Don't just screw around."



ED Magedson Founder

EDitor@RipoffReport.com

badbusinessbureau.com

www.ripoffreport.com



We are Consumer Advocates.

...the victims' advocate



We are a Worldwide Consumer Reporting News Agency

...by consumers, for consumers

First, Hege pleaded guilty(no contest) to 2 counts of obstruction of justice. This ended the feud between himself and the D.A. He got no prison time because if it had gone to trial, the D.A. would have lost and wasted more time and $$. Hege actually made profits for the county on everything he was accused of doing wrong.



The people loved him. The commissioners and the D.A. hated him. After 9 years of putting up with them, he gave up. The battle all began over 2 HD Motorcycles. The county wanted him to run the drug dealers out and he bought them for use in sting operations. Funny how people want the bad guys gone, but don't want the cops to be mean to them to do it.



On to Joe. Apparently the people love him too. I'll accept he's elected. All Sheriff's are. Duh. Since he keeps getting re-elected, I will assume that it is with a majority of the voting public behind him. I'm not sorry that felons cannot vote. As for my being a Republican, good guess. Actually, I am a Libertarian. I haven't voted for a Rep or a Dem in a long time.



Wait, I have. I vote for Ed Brown every time he runs. He's a Dem. As for me, I have been arrested twice for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (once in Tucumcari) and once for stalking someone. I call it hunting down a dog. Walked out of court 3 times with no convictions.



Never have even seen the inside of a jail either. Amazes me what someone has to do to get cuffed and locked up. I've never had cuffs on either, unless you consider that time in Amsterdam, but I digress.



I do get pissed off by tax money getting wasted. The D.A. here tried to run out Ed Brown, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars, just to have a group of Judges and the SBI tell the D.A. again and again that Ed did nothing wrong. If you people believe as you do, then do what you have to to get him out of office. Try finding LAW ABIDING people to agree with you.



By the way, I've read a bunch of stories about Tent City. According to all of them, this site not withstanding, say the inmates there are CONVICTED. They aren't waiting for anything but their time to be up. This comes from your own newspapers out there. I even read about 2 drug dealers who prefer the tents to the regular jails. Take care. Pretend it's always OPPOSITE DAY and do the opposite of what you thought was "a good idea at the time".

Robert,



Have you read the Rip-off Reports on this psycho Sheriff? There are many. I've said this before, the only reason why I cannot hate this man is because of his work and support for dogs and animals in general, I wish other Sheriffs around the country did the same as Sheriff Joe with respect to animals only, ... but, then there is the other side of Sheriff Joe. .. it's like he is like a misguided eccentric old man and that he has a very dark and nasty side to him. His obsession and much wasted efforts along with costing the tax payers money to go after prostitutes leads me to believe he was once very hurt by some woman who was or turned to prostitution. I also think he once experienced someone mistreating dogs when he was very little. This Sheriff is in desperate need of psychiatric help.



Here is the ONLY point you need to get.



Most of the guests of Sheriff Joe's Jail have not been to court yet. So they have not been proven guilty. You don't want us to rely solely on the word of the police and District Attorneys now would you??



This jail is inhumane.



The food being served is not fit for human consumption.



As the founder of an Arizona Civil Rights Group, I personally, as a guest of Sheriff Joe, I , along with others from my organization were allowed to roam tent city and ask questions of the inmates. The place was disgusting and a hell-hole not fit for humans even the few people that have been convicted and incarcerated do NOT deserve this type of mistreatment. We are not a 3rd world country, Sheriff Joe needs to be put in his place. Very possibly I will suffer repercussions for my opinion here, all this because of what I see as a McCarthyism-type climate, just as our government has instituted the Patriot Act, a rouse to take all Americans rights away, everything now comes under the Patriot Act.



BACK TO SHERIFF JOE ...



The injured, and those who have fallen ill, are ignored, and the medical attention they need is denied for many weeks, many times causing serious complications or the loss of an organ and even a life.



The Sheriff brags about how much money he has saved the people, and he is actually really proud of his green bologna sandwiches that have cut down the cost of feeding the inmates, yet no one ever mentions how much money all the law suits against him have cost the tax payers. One recent large case he lost was for over 8 million dollars, yet he rebutted critics by saying they had insurance so it didn't cost the tax payers anything. The truth is the insurance was only for one million dollars, the tax payers had to pay the other 7+ million dollars. SO we have a liar for a Sheriff, ...anyone out there surprised?



Corruption is still rampant at the commissary. A long story for another time.



...And did you know our Sheriff, the toughest one in the United States, can't carry a firearm? It's true, he's on probation! The charge? Something about being cruel treatment to the inmates who were innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and were being held at his jail waiting to see a judge.



Drugs are common place, and this is with the toughest Sheriff America has? What is wrong with this picture?



NO doubt Robert, you are a blind, unrealistic, stubborn Republican, .. someone that believes that a Republican can do no wrong, no matter what it is that a Republican does



... you haven't been there, so keep your mouth shut, your eyes and ears open, and maybe, just maybe, you'll gather enough information to say something intelligent!



I suggest that you take time to educate yourself before forming an opinion.



ED Magedson Founder

EDitor@RipoffReport.com

badbusinessbureau.com

www.ripoffreport.com



Don't let them get away with it.

Make sure they make the Rip-off Report!



We are not lawyers.

We are not a collection agency.



We are Consumer Advocates.

...the victims' advocate



WE are Civil and Human Rights Activists



We are a Worldwide Consumer Reporting News Agency

...by consumers, for consumers

I read alot of testimonials of how people are treated in the Maricopa County jail system. I have been in Tent City; twice. It is a silly place. The sheriff is a retard, and should be drawn and quartered, but thats for God to decide. The interesting thing is this

; Sheriff Joe is not POST certified as a peace officer in AZ. That means he has NO powers of arrest. He cannot legally detain a citizen for any reason, and can be prosecuted for doing so. He is a politician, period, and a bad one at that. Enough about the Sheriff and his megalomaniacal tendencies. The problem, people, is the corrupt, financially-criven jurisprudence system fueled by people like Rick "The p***k" Romley, and his l*****n play pal Janet Napolitano. These people allow flagrant abuses of 4th Amendment rights, and seem to relish running people thru the ringer. Lets concentrate on the system as a whole, instead of the Sheriff, as he is just a high paid (85k/year, I think) babysitter.

He forgets that people are innocent until proven guilty and over 87% of his inmates are still awaiting their trials. They aren't guilty yet! Do I have sympathy for someone who broke the law and was found guilty/admitted guilt? NO, but I am sick of my tax dollars paying off lawsuits to people who were killed or injured in his jails ($4 mil plus to date!)None of those killed had been convicted!



Joe loves to hide his assets and has family connections running the commissary (for a cut). He just recently released a guy who had been held for 4 months on a crime he did not commit(in another state at the time)and treated him horribly! He lost weight, hair and was beaten by the guards.(Another lawsuit)



Robert, you don't live here and if you did you would be just as pissed to see your tax dollars wasted because this man and his cronies can't do the job without hurting some one. Hege was an a*s but I don't recall him declaring himself judge, jury and executioner for a misdeameanor crime.(Although,wasn't Hege found guilty of embezzelment and fraud?)



Robert, please remeber the 8th amendment protects us all and god forbid you should find yourself in Joe's (my) jail for a crime you didn't do or haven't been convicted of yet! There is due process for a reason and Joe should be reminded that the gestapo tactics he uses will come back to bite him in the a*s one day.

Hopefully it will this Novewmber, but I doubt enough people will get out and vote.

Seems to me, and from what I've read here, the ONLY people whining about him are you and your ilk. The bed-wetters(liberals) also cry about him, but they cry about anything that makes them "feel" bad. Try NOT committing crimes and you won't have a problem with Joe. As for other Sheriff's not being written about, that's simple. They coddle the inmates. We had Hege here in NC until the liberals got some dirt on him and had him removed from office. The "evidence" wasn't anything more than an accounting error that is made everyday in nearly all businesses. He didn't profit at all from it. Just put the entry into the wrong column. Crime has shot up in Davidson County since he left. In Onslow County, Ed Brown is more like Andy Taylor from the Andy Griffith Show. He rarely wears his gun. Just don't push him on it though. The people like him and the criminals fear him. The cry-babies tried to remove him also. They wasted a ton of $$ just to find out he was doing his job. Our Judges will also toss you into a holding cell if you aren't dressed appropriately. Show up for court looking like trash, and they'll make sure you get that haircut, shave, and clean well fitted wardrobe you were needing. Everyone looks good in orange. That goes for men and women. That means men wear trousers that fit(not hanging off their butt) and a button down shirt tucked in. No sandals for men. Women just have to have the basics. Hemlines at or below the knees, tops that cover the midsection and cover the breasts. Jails and prisons aren't supposed to be fun. They are supposed to be a deterrent against committing more crimes. Onslow County has a very low crime rate. Nearly everyone is civil to each other too. Amazing what happens when people know how to behave. No inmate needs air conditioning, television, radios, weight rooms, basketballs, or ANY form of recreation beyond books. If the food sucked, sleep was difficult, and you had nothing else to do than hard labor, nobody would WANT to go to jail/prison. This system works in the Marines. Very few go back to CCU for a second time. Most learn it the first time in. As it is, in the civilian world, jail is preferred over the outside. That is the ONLY explanation for the high return rate in US jails/prisons. Stop crying about your horrible treatment that you DESERVE in the hands of Joe Arpaio, and try to learn from what YOU did to become his ward. Whatever it was, try doing the OPPOSITE next time.