Feel better now?
Back to the OP, the question was whether hot tents were just desserts for criminals, or torture. (If those are intended to be the only two choices, it’s a lousy question, but I believe the OPer wanted to open this wide-ranging discussion.) I got interested, so I googled Sheriff Arpaio. You find many references.
The thought in my mind was, if the tent city was properly managed, it could be a functional and professional method of housing convicts, but proper management would be a requirement.
And, of course, to form a HO you would want a more specific description of the tent city’s conditions.
Responding, I started right off by diverging from the literal OP, which was a characterization of punishment not as ordered by the sentencing judge (“90 days county jail”) but as trimmings determined by the ideas of the custodial authority (Sheriff’s Office).
In that, MHO is that penalties need to be layed out in the laws and specified by the judges who have observed the accused and the evidence, heard the witnesses, read the verdict, and seen the probation report as to record if any, IQ, family, etc.
People really need to know, when they are tempted to use offensive language; get drunk; drive without a license; sell something of questionable value; commit prostitution; commit murder; write a bad check; punch a policeman; maim; rape; torture; kill; or do a little dope–they need to know how seriously their society views this action. In advance.
I’m a citizen, I might roll a stopsign. I expect a fine and points on my license. Kindly don’t have Joe Hotshot add on arbitrary entertainments (and also don’t have Joe Mushbrain make excuses for me and tell me it’s OK).
More to come.
Some particulars of the tent city (“In-Tents”). This is an attempt to provide applicable facts from Googled sources.
The camp houses between 1000 and 2000 inmates, 25 per tent. They are separated by category.
In-Tents Section: 29 tents of male working inmates, 10 of female ditto, one control “Tower” of non-working fully sentenced male inmates. Three detention officers typically assigned to supervise “the yard”. Average daily population about 1000.
Con-Tents: 20 tents of work-furlough/work-release male inmates, 7 tents for female ditto; avg.daily pop nearly 400.
Pup-Tents: 5 tents w/capacity for up to 100 male juveniles convicted and sentenced as adults. Modular building with 2 highschool classrooms, offices, and showers.
Cite, 2003
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(Excerpt/summary) The 35 (originally) tents are erected over six-inch concrete slabs with two rows of double bunk beds, fluorescent lights, an evaporative cooler (in 1993; these are no longer used). Heat is provided by a small electric heater inmates say is worthless. Outside, eight portable toilets for 35 tents. Inmates have access to a dorm across the rock-lined courtyard, where eight more toilets and showers are available. The dorm (not the tents) also has a television set, tables and chairs.
Cite, 1993
Comment by Foo: Portable toilets makes it seem the individual tents do not have water supplies, unless this has changed as the camp grew.
Various sources state no broadcast TV, or Sheriff Arpaio reading a story each night as a literacy class. Allowed TV has doubtless varied over time.
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A single fan in each tent; very little space between top bunks and top of tent allowing little air circulation; contradictory statements over sanitation, dust, and vermin.
Security concern: “There are no video cameras in the tents and no sight lights, and if the flaps of the tents are down guards are unable to see into or through the tents, putting them into a potentially hazardous situation if they need to go in to check or respond to an incident…others have said that the In-Tent facilities require greater security than hard cell facilities because of their open design, ready availability of materials that can be used as weapons (including rocks, tent poles, etc) and lack of segregation between violent and non-violent inmates…was told that there were regular bouts of inmate-on-inmate violence in the tents…the tents have no mechanism to alert prison staff in case of an emergency…In May 1996 Jeremy Flanders sustained a near-fatal head injury after he was assaulted with a tent stake…”
Cite, 1997
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“In the Arizona summers starting around May the daily high will be 100 F (37 C) and often the high will be 110 F. The record high in Phoenix is 122 F ( 50 C). While the winters are mild the low can be under freezing 32F ( 0 C ).” Statement, I can’t vouch for it, AZ dopers pls verify (or not).
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20-year-old convicted of burglary, serving one year, Jeremy Flanders, badly beaten by other inmates apparently using metal tent pole and feet, two days on life support. Occurred at night; three guards were in the tent city responsible for over 1,000 inmates; all three in the office; patrolling every 1-4 hours.
Cite, 1996
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Inmates in the county’s standard jails can and do volunteer for the tent city, apparently because it is outdoors. Whether they are better off: unknown. The county jail buildings’ swamp coolers do not cool the cell areas (cites lost, too dam many references).
It’s true. It’s doesn’t get terribly cold here, but often during the winter we have temps at night reaching a little below freezing (maybe 28 to 32 degrees). Some days don’t get out of the 40s, but most winter days are in the 60s.