Blood drawn to determine whether Johnson was drunk
- Thread starter Big Dakota
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03EBZ06
Need2Speed
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Q_the_man;1536182 said:
While I would agree that speeding is a misdemeanor, but the fact is, it is still committing a crime.
When a law is violated, and there is a law governing speed limits, then it is a criminal act, regardless, how small it may be.
Big Country
Rolling Thunder
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the common denominator is almost always that trouble is easier to find after midnight...
Big Country
Rolling Thunder
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Hostile;1535994 said:
about the prison TV... I remember that the federal govt. made him put TVs in and he blocked every channel except the Disney channel and the Weather channel...
They asked Sheriff Joe why he allowed the weather channel in and he replied " Cause I want them to know how hot it's gonna be on my chain gangs "
Bob Sacamano
Benched
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Mr Cowboy;1536413 said:
I thought Maryland gave you that option until I found out that my license was suspended for failing to take a chemical test, even though I submitted to the breathalyzer
5Stars
Here comes the Sun...
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Hostile;1536405 said:
CNN) -- The tent city looks like a military camp in the desert, with thick canvas sleeping quarters spreading out in a remote area of Arizona.
The inhabitants, however, are not soldiers, but residents of an unusual, some say brutal, prison run by legendary lawman Joe Arpaio, called the toughest sheriff in the West.
For the Maricopa County sheriff, who opened the nation's largest tent prison in 1993, saving taxpayer pennies matters more than comforting convicted felons.
"We took away coffee, that saved $150,000 a year. Why do you need coffee in jail?" says Arpaio, patrolling the dusty, barren grounds. "Switched to bologna sandwiches, that saved half a million dollars a year."
Arpaio makes inmates pay for their meals, which some say are worse than those for the guard dogs. Canines eat $1.10 worth of food a day, the inmate 90 cents, the sheriff says. "I'm very proud of that too."
Critics rail against harsh conditions in the prison, where temperatures can top 100 degrees.
"We still have rights, but they act like we're scum," one inmate complains.
Adds Eleanor Eisenberg of the ACLU: "Sheriff Arpaio has conditions in his jail that are inhumane, and he's proud of it."
Arpaio boasts of his chain gangs for men and women, which "contribute thousands of dollars of free labor to taxpayers each month," according to his Web site.
[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Pink underwear and bedtime stories
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Inmates follow strict fashion and lifestyle guidelines. They are forced to wear old-fashioned prison stripes and pink underwear. Prohibited items include cigarettes, adult magazines, hot lunches and television -- except for his bedtime story reading, a self-styled literacy program broadcast nightly to the inmates.
The sheriff, who spent more than 25 years in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, including a stint as a special agent in Turkey, has taken justice to rare extremes in other areas as well.
He has the nation's largest group of volunteer law enforcers, according to his Web site. More than 2,500 people are in his "posse," who go after prostitutes, graffiti artists and criminals at shopping malls.
Although Arpaio has lowered the prison budget, his unorthodox prison management style has led to some high legal expenses. The country has been hit with hundreds of inmate-related lawsuits, and ordered to pay millions in legal damages. Recent cases include:
In January, the county settled a wrongful-death suit filed by the family of Scott Norberg for $8.5 million. He died, reportedly of asphyxiation, as he struggled with prison guards in 1996.
In April, a jury awarded $1.5 million to an inmate denied medical treatment for a perforated ulcer. Tim Griffin, arrested for driving with a suspended license, required several surgeries for the perforated ulcer.
Another former inmate suing Arpaio, Richard Post, a paraplegic, claims guards treated him brutally and caused spinal cord damage.
Arpaio, who has also settled a civil suit with the U.S. Department of Justice over jail conditions, brushes off charges of brutality.
"That's garbage. Look at my officers. We run the safest jail system in the U.S.," he said.
Arpaio is among the state's most popular office-holders. He enjoys an 85 percent approval rating among voters in the county, which at 9,200 square miles is larger than some states, and includes the city of Phoenix.
Even some inmates treat him like a celebrity. As the sheriff stands in a group of female prisoners, one presents a legal pad.
"You want an autograph? What you got here? What's your name?" he asks.
On another occasion, a male prisoner, a look of anger on his face, tries to talk to the sheriff, who quickly interrupts:
"You have been convicted. You're doing your time. Do your time and shut your mouth and do what you have to do."
