PRISON INMATES PRETTY IN PINK

By kathy on Jan 15, 2008 in Texas

Can the Embarrassment Reduce Crime and Save Billions in Tax Dollars?

by James H. Lilley

The Van Zandt County, Texas Detention Center in Canton, Texas has taken a page from the “Prison Handbook” of Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona. That’s right, the new standard in fashion wear for prisoners in the Van Zandt County Slammer is PINK. And, prisoners interviewed by CNN News, openly expressed their embarrassment over their new garb, and vowed to never return to the jail—even if it meant never committing another crime.

Sheriff Arpaio believes jails and prisons shouldn’t be set up as the Ritz/Carlton for those who break the law. Prison wear for inmates at the Maricopa County Jail, which is a Tent City Jail created by the Sheriff, became pink from head to toe—underwear and socks included. He created chain gangs, so the inmates could work on county and city projects at no cost to the taxpayers. He then established a chain gang for women so he wouldn’t be sued for discrimination. He put an end to pornographic magazines, and smoking, took away the weights, and allows only “G” rated movies to be shown. He stopped Cable TV, until he discovered that a Federal Court Order required Cable TV for jails. He turned the Cable TV on again, but it only receives the Disney Channel and the Weather Channel. Someone asked the Sheriff, “Why the weather channel?” He replied, “So they’ll know how hot it’s gonna be while they’re working on my chain gang.”

When temperatures soared to over 130 degrees in the Tent City Jail, Sheriff Joe Arpaio allowed the inmates to strip down to their pink boxer shorts. One tent city inmate complained, “It feels like we’re in a Furnace. It’s inhumane.” Sheriff Arpaio offered no sympathy for his plight. He said, “It’s 120 degrees in Iraq, and our soldiers are living in tents too. And, they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn’t commit any crimes. So shut your damned mouth.”

He also cut off all coffee at the jail, because it has no nutritional value. When the inmates complained about the loss of their coffee, he simply said, “If you don’t like it, don’t come back.”

He bought the Newt Gingrich lecture series on tape, and piped it into the jail. A reporter asked if he had any lecture series by a Democrat. He replied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.

It seems that Sheriff Arpaio has also found ways to save the taxpayers millions of dollars. Maricopa County was spending 18 million dollars a year dealing with stray animals, such as cats and dogs. He offered to take over the department, and the County Supervisors agreed. All animal shelters are now staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays, and every animal is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who have become experts in animal nutrition and behavior, and these same inmates provide classes for anyone adopting animals. He has taken some stray dogs off the streets, put them under the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows. The entire program now operates on a budget under 3 million dollars a year.

If every state across the nation would put one program, such as this, in operation at a saving of over 15 million dollars annually, the taxpayers would save over 7.5 billion dollars. Governor O’Malley, are you listening?

The Maricopa County Jail has a large farm, which was donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work. They grow most of their own fresh vegetables and

food, doing the work and harvesting by hand. There is also a fairly good-sized hog farm, which provides meat and fertilizer. The fertilizer is used to fertilize the Christmas trees at a nursery where the prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for as little as six dollars, and replant it later.

Is there any reason why similar programs cannot be established and utilized throughout the nation’s correctional system? Again, there would be the saving of millions of dollars in taxes, tax dollars spent on purchasing foods that could be grown for use within the penal system. Indeed, there may be arguments that certain climates in various states would prohibit such programs, and some locations would not allow such programs at all. But, vegetables grown in California and Arizona can be shipped to Maine, and livestock raised in Texas could be used to feed inmates in Seattle and New York. Yes, a cooperative effort nationwide to save the taxpayer money. It also occupies and teaches those who participate in the programs a valuable skill, and surely it wouldn’t damage their self-esteem. In the end, the hard work and accomplishment would tend to bolster an inmate’s self-worth.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio continues to be reelected to office, winning the last election with 83% of the vote. But, he’s not a favorite with the ACLU. He’s taken another initiative, painting all of his buses and vehicles with a mural, which have a special hotline telephone number for calling and reporting illegal aliens. He wasn’t satisfied with the job being done by Immigrations and Customs, and had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws. In addition, to his hotline to report illegal aliens, he purchased four new busses to haul them back to the border.

Though in the eyes of the bleeding hearts, the ACLU, and certainly a few of our “esteemed” politicians, Sheriff Joe Arpaio might be a rogue, or seem out of control with his programs. Yet, with less than 50% of his prisoners returning to jail, he must be doing something right.

If wearing pink, in only two locations around the country, has stimulated dozens of inmates to want to change their evil ways, it seems that pink should become the new jailhouse fashion frenzy across the country. To some it might seem farfetched, but what’s the harm in testing Sheriff Arpaio’s methods? Imagine the savings in tax dollars if pink inspired a half-dozen inmates from every correctional facility around the country to walk the straight and narrow. And, with nationwide publicity, could it have an effect on others who are already engaging in a life of crime, and the wannabe thugs? Let’s face it, wearing pink doesn’t do much to enhance the tough guy image. And, it would be very difficult trying to play the role of a macho gang-banger, even with head to toe tattoos, while standing around in pink socks and underwear.

We’ve heard law enforcement and elected officials promise hard-line tactics to enforce the laws and rid our streets of crime. Yet, in spite of political bravado, often times complete with fist pumping, crime hasn’t been swept from the streets. Screams for stricter laws, more stringent sentencing guidelines, and the never-ending cries to ban firearms have filled the news for years, and criminals still freely prowl the streets of America. But, could something as simple as mandating that inmates across America will henceforth wear pink, be the solution to our crime problem? And, studies have shown that the color pink does indeed have a very calming effect.

Any endeavor of this magnitude would require total cooperation on the federal, state and local level in our correctional system. Yet, there is no reason why cooperation cannot be attained—unless egos get in the way. If our politicians, corrections and law enforcement officials are as eager to find solutions to the crime problem, as they claim they are, power struggles and egos need to be put aside. Sheriff Arpaio seems to have found a workable solution, which includes inmates working to provide goods and services for themselves and others. Most other programs, including gun buy backs, have failed miserably. Why not follow Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s lead and test his methods? We have nothing to lose, but much to gain if it works around the nation.

A project of this dimension would certainly bring the ACLU, and the bleeding hearts charging to the courts to scream rights violations, cruel and unusual punishment, and anything else they could dream up. But, this is the time the courts would have to be unwavering in their support of the program, and suggest the ACLU and bleeding hearts pack their bags for Iran, or North Korea.

Any such undertaking shouldn’t be done quietly. It should be publicized, on billboard advertisements, in television commercials, and movie trailers. Publicity showing an inmate behind bars, wearing pink with a caption of, “If you think you’re tough enough to commit the crime, be sure you’re tough enough to wear this, while doing your time,” might create a remarkable impression.

Imagine criminals and wannabe thugs, around the country asking themselves,