The Pink-Clad Prisoners Of Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona-Truth!

Summary of eRumor:

The email describes prison conditions in Arizona’s Maricopa tent jail and quotes the sheriff as telling complaining inmates that the soldiers in Iraq are facing similar conditions, living in tents in hot weather, and that they didn’t commit any crimes.

The Truth:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a colorful and controversial character who has instituted severe policies at Phonex’s Maricopa County Jail since taking office in 1993.
According to his bio on the Maricopa County website, he enjoys being known as “America’s toughest sheriff.”
He got nationwide attention when he established the Maricopa County tent city for inmates.
More than 2,000 prisoners live without smoking, coffee, pornographic magazines, movies and unrestricted television in all jails.
The eRumor says the meals cost less than 40 cents but the cost figure is actually less than 20 cents.
Arpaio has also instituted what he calls “Hard Knocks High”, the only accredited high school in an American jail.
That, along with an anti-drug program, says Arpaio, has resulted in a high percentage of his inmates leaving jail without their addictions and few of them returning.
This particular eRumor borrows from an Associated Press article from July, 2003 that focused on the prisoner’s experiences during a heat wave and adds other details that have become well-known about Sheriff Arpaio and the jail.
Last updated 7/24/04