Army-Surplus Tents to Have Room for More Criminals: Tent City Gaol, the Legal Gulag of Arizona

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An inhumane and disgraceful situation has existed in Maricopa County, Arizona since 1993. Tent City is a gaol, where, instead of being locked up, inmates are kept outside in dirty old army-surplus tents, in a gated area. This modern gaol, which can hold up to 2,126 convicts, has an old-fashioned twist on how to deal with criminal offenses. The ham-fisted practises in this facility don’t differentiate between those gaoled for misdemeanours and felonies. Rick Edwards, a former prisoner and now CEO of an Arizona nonprofit named ExecuGive, told VOR exactly how Tent City operates. The majority of prisoners would most likely say that getting into brawls is the hardest part of their day, amongst other annoyances, but Tent City is different from other gaols. Once registered, inmates receive a black and white striped uniform, along with pink boxers, socks, and towels. Edwards told VOR, “This is to embarrass inmates and reduce theft of clothing. It’s become Sheriff Joe’s trademark”.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County is one tough cop, and an oddly creative man. It was his decision to set up army-surplus tents when his gaol reached full capacity. Instead of letting some criminals out earlier, he put up tents to accommodate them. A tall fence topped with barbed wire surrounds the tents, along with lookout posts so that prison guards can watch the facility. Edwards told us, “Inmates, criminals, and persons with direct knowledge of Arpaio and Tent City tend to hate and dislike him more than fear him. Still, many people love him and all that he stands for”. However, more and more people are speaking out against the sheriff… his “good deeds” for the county are starting to look like illogical torture for those under his authority. This past September, charges accusing Arpaio of abuse of office were dropped. Another allegation raising red flags was his usage of the county’s credit card. Reportedly, he used the card recklessly, to charge personal items. None of these claims went to court, as there was supposedly a lack of evidence. Besides all this, Arpaio barely won this past election, winning only 50.7 percent of the vote, his closest race in his 20 years of being sheriff.

Critics and ex-Tent City inmates aren’t convinced that his policing strategies are for the better. For instance, rumour has it that the food he serves is old, past its “use by” date. Instead of three meals a day, inmates only get two meals, which cost the county 40 cents (12 Roubles. 0.31 Euro. 25 UK Pence) per serving. The rules are even more rancid than the food, as he allows no tobacco, coffee, sugar, salt, or pepper. This neglect in providing proper meals isn’t the only accusation against Arpaio. A post on blog.novakazlaw.com claims that a former cook for Tent City saw cockroaches and rats crawling around the kitchen floor. Unsanitary food handling may seem minor, but the public worries about the conditions of the place, even if Arpaio isn’t letting the budget get out of hand. Edwards noted, “The heat’s a problem during the summer. You’re living outside in tents. Frequently, it’s in the 110s temperature-wise in Phoenix. The sheriff says that if it’s good enough for our military, it is good enough for criminals”.

Physically, prison is a daunting place, but Tent City is in a league of its own. Edwards, who’s a recovering addict, counsellor, and relapse prevention expert, said, “I’ve stayed in Tent City many times, some for an extended amount of time (you can be there up to two years). I’ve been treated rudely and unfairly in their continuing effort to rule by intimidation. I’ve also been denied legal rights many times. I’ve witnessed physical, mental, and emotional abuse daily. As an experienced and veteran prisoner, my inside knowledge allowed me to position myself to avoid much of the abuse. I followed the rules and used them to my advantage. Mental toughness and acuity was a strong defensive measure”. Edwards made it clear that medical care is hard to come by and, even if received, is of very poor quality in Tent City.

Edwards isn’t the only ex-inmate who remembers the dump Tent City has become, Deb Allenbaugh also experienced the jail’s “amenities” of portable toilets and fresh air. She got sent to tent city in 2004, and wrote the Tent City Survival Guide after her release. In the end, both Edwards and Allenbaugh learned to take nothing for granted, and to do everything possible to keep out of Tent City. The gaol in Maricopa County is one of a kind; inmates can barely function with inadequate food and scorching temperatures. People talk about the neglectful conditions, but they never seem to find legal proof, leaving its operation shrouded in questions. The modern American gulag has arrived; it’s here to stay, although one can hope for genuine improvements inside Tent City.

30 November 2012

Sarah Neary

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_11_30/War-type-tents-to-have-room-for-more-criminals-Tent-City-jail-the-legal-gulag-of-Arizona/

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Life is Everywhere

Nikolai Yaroshenko

1888

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Editor’s Note:

There are two things to say about Arapaio’s abuse of prisoners. Firstly, the Church would condemn him for cruelty. Full stop. The Church teaches us that prisoners are human beings and deserve mercy (I’m thinking of the famous Russian painting Life is Everywhere depicting a 19th century convict transport to Siberia). Secondly, if a Russian gaol were to have only half the abuses of Arpaio’s crank operation, the US State Department would have a hissy fit. If all things are equal, that means that Joe Arpaio is a abuser and criminal himself… and deserves imprisonment. Reflect on this… the Republican Party supports the policies of this amoral monster. That’s a meaty thought…

BMD

22 May 2012. No Lie… Arizona Secretary of State Threatens to Kick President Obama Off the Ballot in His State

Why can’t the contemporary GOP act like its honourable forebears? At one time, the GOP FOUGHT corporate vultures… it broke up mega-corporations… today, it’s their scabby and shameless whore… O Fortuna, velut luna, statu variabilis (O, Fortune, as fickle as the moon…)…

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How ’bout a little “mood music”…

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Read this. Now, note this quote:

“Sometimes, when you want to believe something badly enough, no amount of evidence to the contrary will change your mind”, says Brian Montopoli at CBS News. Bennett isn’t alone either. He was moved to act by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is going full-birther, and three GOP congressmen have recently said they’re not sure if Obama’s American. Catherine Poe at The Washington Times  said, “The birther movement would be funny if it weren’t so dangerous. It’s rampant paranoia. It’s unsettling that some Americans will always believe that Obama isn’t one of us and he tricked us to become president”.

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The birthers are such lunatics that even the reliably-Far Right Washington Times is distancing itself from them. Willard Romney has the obligation and DUTY to condemn this nonsense explicitly and without equivocation or waffling… or mount a legal challenge against the President immediately, asking that the SCOTUS hear this case on an emergency basis, for if the President were, in fact, legally-ineligible to hold the office of POTUS, that would be his DUTY. I’ll be blunt… all of the birther conspiracy theories are pure bullshit… they don’t contain a scintilla or iota of truth, but Wafflin’ Willy refuses to condemn birtherism… too many of the bubbas in his base actually believe it (as they also believe that the President’s a Muslim and that there was a shooter behind the grassy knoll).

If you needed proof that the contemporary Republican Party has gone around the bend, and that’s its terminally-gaga, this is it, kids. Wherefore art thou, Teddy Roosevelt, Ike Eisenhower, Jake Javits, and Gerald Ford? Oh… I forgot… King Rush and Queen Ann label them RINOs… izzat so? Here’s what the Republican Party used to stand for, as Teddy said:

The great corporations, which we’ve grown to speak of rather loosely as trusts, are the creatures of the State, and the State not only has the right to control them, but its duty bound to control them wherever the need of such control is shown.

I seem to notice a DIFFERENCE between Wafflin’ Willy and Steady Teddy… one of these things is NOT like the other, and the difference isn’t flattering to Willy, is it? You KNOW what to do in November…

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Albany NY

18 April 2012. The Russian “Take” on Trayvon Martin is NOT that Expressed by the American Rightwing… Let’s Look at the Facts of the Matter

This is what I believe… if you don’t like it… tough beans. I won’t close my mind to suit any political, social, or religious Neanderthal. I’ll stand for what’s right, come what may. ‘Nuff said!

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As I read the Russian media daily (what I post here is only a smidgen of what I read), the Russian “take” on Trayvon Martin is consistent. NO Russian commentator takes the position of Fox News and the Republican Party. I did post a VOR article by Vladimir Gladkov (click here to read it) that was typical of Russian media reportage of the event. The Russian and Russian Orthodox media publicised the inability of the American authorities to secure any justice in this case. In Russia, there is ALWAYS reference to what Article of the Criminal Code is applicable in serious media reports. I notice that rightwing US media avoid the issue of Criminally Negligent Homicide. George Zimmerman’s shooting of Trayvon Martin, in the technical legal sense, was NOT a “murder” (although in colloquial terms it was such). Murder requires premeditation not present in this case; it wasn’t a killing in the course of a felony, or a killing of a deputised peace officer. Yet, “Murder” isn’t the only form of legally-punishable killing, there’s also Manslaughter and Criminally Negligent Homicide. I believe that Zimmerman committed Criminally Negligent Homicide.

It wasn’t Murder, as it lacked intent. It wasn’t Manslaughter, as it occurred outside the commission of a crime. Yet, a death occurred due to George Zimmerman’s “high recklessness “. After he’d reported the situation to the 911 operator, the operator ordered Zimmerman to back off; the coppers would take care of it. He refused to follow instructions; he stalked Martin in his car, and confronted him, without any approval from any higher authority. Zimmerman was only a civilian member of a neighbourhood watch group, he was NOT a sworn and deputised peace officer authorised to bear and use armed force to enforce the laws of the State of Florida. George Zimmerman lacked the legal authority to confront Trayvon Martin with a firearm and demand that he “cease and desist”. Zimmerman was in his car; Martin was on foot. That means that Zimmerman had the means to “outrun” Martin if he didn’t confront him. In short, Zimmerman provoked the encounter, and that fact alone could justify a conviction under Criminally Negligent Homicide (but not Murder or Manslaughter).

Frankly, much of the brouhaha in the media over this disgusts me. On the right, there’s no discussion of the fact that Zimmerman provoked the encounter, and that he illegally usurped the authority of using deadly force. On the left, there’s too much discussion of racism… it’s there, no doubt on that score, but that’s not what’s ultimately important. What’s pivotal is that Zimmerman usurped the state’s authority to enforce the laws; he was nothing but a self-appointed and reckless vigilante. Yes… I believe that his racism motivated his refusal to pull back from the encounter, but racism isn’t what’s important in a court of law. What matters is that Zimmerman broke the law by taking upon himself the authority of a police officer. Full stop. If we keep racism out of that discussion, it’ll convince many good-hearted and well-intentioned people that not only George Zimmerman, but also the Republican Party in general, winks at gun violence and vigilante injustice (often motivated by a sick racism, to be sure).

I’ll tell you one of the reasons why the US media attacks Russia… I see that the Russian media exposed the filthy hypocritical face of US racism, embodied in white supremacy and ignorant attacks on President Obama’s birth and religion. One of the writers in the Russian press noted that if there really were a problem with President Obama’s birth certificate, the GOP would’ve been in court in a heartbeat; after all, Bush stole the election in 2000 on less of a pretext, didn’t he? On the other hand, take Joe Arpaio… he runs a brutal desert GULag that the American media would cry crocodile tears over if it were in Russia. That’s received much attention in the Russian press, too. Trayvon Martin has received much positive press in the CIS, especially from the KPRF and KPU. It’s something that Putin, Udaltsov, Zyuganov, and His Holiness agree upon (but not the pro-West running-dog Prokhorov… he’s all in favour of the US rightwing).

Doubtlessly, the rightwing will blame it all on “the liberal media”. They’ll call us “hypocrites” and “un-Christian” for supporting justice for Trayvon (and for his family, too). The Republicans have stirred the shit ever since they started to woo racist Southerners in the late ‘60s. The “liberal media” had nothing to do with it… there’s been a worldwide outcry. HH supports Trayvon… that’s why Langley hates him and wants to discredit him (the kafuffle over the blingy watch was a case in point). Indeed, the rightwing’s starting to use discredited terminology such as “race-traitor”. They’re unashamed about it all, too. That’s ugly and creepy! Not only that, it’s against everything that we believe in as Orthodox Christians. Let’s allow the court to act. God willing, the court will find George Zimmerman guilty of (at least) usurping the state’s authority… but this should be a warning to us all. Not only is there racism in the USA, “interested parties” want to exacerbate the situation for low and amoral political ends. Reflect on this… Fox News is owned by the same guy who published News of the World (it wasn’t called “Screws of the World” for nothing!)… like calls unto like, no?

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Albany NY