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Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Inmate Julie Harper, center, marches with members of America's only all-female chain gang early in the morning at Estrella Jail in Phoenix, Arizona. Photos taken in May 2012 and made available to msnbc.com on June 28, 2012.
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
The chain gang work in 104 degree heat, hacking at weeds at Bartlett Lake.
Photos and text by Jim Lo Scalzo, European Pressphoto Agency — It's a scene reminiscent of the Deep South at the turn of the 20th century: A dozen prisoners in pinstripes working by the side of the road, their legs shackled together and their brows dripping with sweat. Yet this is present-day Phoenix, and the prisoners are all women.
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Kelly DeGrose, center, listens to a detention officer lecture them after a day's work on the chain gang.
With a few exceptions, chain gangs were abandoned in the U.S. by 1955. But Arizona's Maricopa County, which includes metropolitan Phoenix, reintroduced the practice in 1995, and today the county runs the only all-female chain gang in the country. Women volunteer for the duty, looking to break the monotony of jail life. Most are in for minor convictions - a DUI sentence, a probation violation - and are housed at the Tent City, a collection of surplus military tents erected next to Maricopa County's Estrella Jail to ease overcrowding.
Previously on PhotoBlog: Rikers Island inmates graduate with high school diplomas
The "chain girls," as they call themselves, gather at 6 a.m., when detention officers drive them to that day's work site. It could be a local park to pick up trash, a highway roadside to pull weeds, or even a county cemetery to help bury the indigent. Though summer temperatures in Phoenix can rise above 110 degrees, inmates volunteer with surprising eagerness.
"It's worth it just to get out for a few hours," says Mickey Haas, who is serving time for a DUI. Fellow chain girl Honi Simmons agrees, adding: "It comes with a good story. I don't think people will ever believe I was in a chain gang."
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Members of the chain gang line up for work early in the morning at Estrella Jail.
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Members of the chain gang are seen in a bus driver's mirror en route to White Tanks Cemetery to help bury the indigent.
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
The chain gang help bury an unclaimed body at White Tanks Cemetery, an indigent burial site in the desert west of Phoenix.
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Inmates Alma Madrigal, left, and Jennifer Thomas, right, help Lisa McCorvey roll up her sleeves before a day's work.
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Members of the chain gang clean the dust off their boots after another day's work in the desert.
Leave a Comment:
Oh who cares. All prisons should bring back chain gangs and make the work rain or shine, hot or cold. Prisons should be hell for the prisoner NOT Club Med. They do not deserve TV or radio or computers or even law books.
You deny the ability to gain understand the law they broke?
Seems like you fail to understand justice.... and you call yourself a "Real American?"
A "Real American" when pledging allegiance to the flag, understands that "for which it stands" means that you've pledged allegiance to each and every one of those prisoners in those jails. Because they broke a law does not strip them of their citizenship.
"...and Justice for All." is not a rote statement. It is central to BEING American. I don't know what you are, but clearly you have no respect for Americans, and thereby have no respect for America. You deserve the nation that you decry... fortunately, it's NOT the USA. Try Yemen?
I care, and I like it. That is what we need - convicts doing something useful for society. We need more chain gangs and prison farms. Not more super comfortable prisons with gyms.
Cry me a river.
If you can't do the time.....don't do the crime.
Nuff said?
boogablue
No need to lecture about being American. These people are adult. They should have used their head before committing crime. Most likely they would commit crime again once they are released. Lenient people like you make these people take advantage of the system in this country (not in the yemen). That is why we are wasting lots of $$ on nonsense. If you were the victim, you would understand and think differently.
I agree with RealAmerican. They deserve to work on 108 degree heat. I hike all the time on 108, drink lots of fluid. Boogablue, you sound like a typical american, couch potato.
What about those who aren't actually guilty of a crime even though they are convicted. The innocence project alone proves that this happens a lot more than Americans are willing to accept or believe.
Yet this line of reasoning is still prevalent, that everyone in jail must be a criminal and therefore deserve to be mistreated and have no rights. I agree that a majority of people in jail deserve to be there but is it fair to punish those that don't?
Spare me the tree huggers lament. You are gonna coddle all because one MIGHT be innocent??? I don't think so. If these women had learned there are consequences for their actions as children, many would not be there today. Prisoners only rights should be food, clothing and shelter. They forfeit all other "rights" the day they break the law.
Sheriff Joe needs the Nobel Peace Prize. He has done more for society than obama!!!
Don't be so judgemental about people that you don't know anything about. You don't know where they came from, what they have lived through or witnessed. You should never look down at someone because you never know what life has in store for you in the future. The tables can turn quickly and you may find yourself in a situation that lands you in their same shoes.
Where the hell are you getting this "mistreated" crap? Did none of you read the part where it says they VOLUNTEERED?
And wrongful convictions should have nothing to do with this story. There are far more people in the system that are truly guilty than not. And again these women are not being tortured. They are performing a service for the county and getting out of jail for the day. No one is forcing them to do this. So I am all for it as long as it is their choice. Forcing people to work in this heat would be torture. But in Phoenix you see people doing it by choice all the time.
You wanna see torture? Come by "A" Mountain on the ASU campus at the beginning of the school year when they make all the freshman walk up that hill. It is still triple digit heat and many of those kids attending orientation are from out of town and not used to the weather yet. THOSE are the ones being carried away in an ambulance!
I am not for cushy conditions for criminals either especially those who have ravaged or killed innocents of any age, but for what these gals have done I say let 'em watch tv which I might add would be hell for me. The first time I was hauled to jail I had no idea what was going on, but didn't dare argue with the misled cop. This was 60 years ago when jails had an odor. I decided then I was gonna keep my nose clean. These gals are smart. They CHOSE to be outside. Sure its warm, but then again its better than hell.
All of your arguments (except Lolly1192 & yupikesk1) are moot. If you all would have bothered to read the article (except Lolly1192 & yupikesk1, once again), you would have read that the "Women volunteer for the duty, looking to break the monotony of jail life." Another misleading headline, which is why you should actually read the article before trying to post a comment. They make it sound like this is forced upon the inmates, when it is not.
That being said, what you all should really be focused on is how their 'sheriff' makes all the prisoners live outside in tents in Phoenix. As if being in jail is not already bad enough! I bet most of the prisoners aren't even violent criminals or 'bad' people. We put people in jail for too long, for too many things. And then we let fat-@ss racist c0ck-suckers like Arpaio decide their living conditions? Bullsh!t, I tell ya!
ryan--so do you live in Phoenix? Are you aware that Phoenix's jails were too full, and there was not tax money to build on? So were YOU willing to have a new tax added to everything YOU do or purchase in Phoenix to pay to build a new jail? (or add on) I haven't seen any one stepping up with THAT proposal.
And the tent 'jail' has been there for YEARS--so why on earth, knowing it exists, would anyone 'do the crime' when they know they could get sent there?
And I REALLY love it when you start calling Arpaio a fat racist (never mind the epithets) since if you bothered to look at the photos accompanying this article, about 1/3 appear to be black (but might be Hispanic) another 1/3 APPEAR to be Hispanic, but could be Native American, Italian, Armenian or my MOTHER, and about 1/3 appear to be WHITE--at least two of which seemingly ARE by virtue not only of their pictures but of their names, many of whom could ALSO be in any of the groups above.
And sorry, but if you don't want people put in jail, then work to change the laws. Until then, those who willfully break the law deserve to go to jail.
PS--I have friends who live in Casa Grande, and they don't have AC, and don't think they need it. They have a 'swamp machine' ( dehumidifier) and they say most of their family and neighbors do too.
And BOTH like to work outside in their garden. And one of them is VERY blond.
Wow. I wouldn't volunteer for that type of assignment. I would be too tempted to slam a sledge hammer across the face of a correctional officer or two. Just saying.
MOmaid........it's a swamp "cooler" and in dry climates they work well...........Danceroflife.....you have obviously never been "institutionalized", you would find that sledge in a VERY uncomfortable place...just sayin'...........
MOmaid: No, I do not live in AZ, but I am no stranger to the desert heat. You are correct about the tents having been used for years. I did not know that. Despite Arpaio's claim to have invented the idea, the tents have been in use for decades. This fact makes the 'lack of funding' argument sound like a convenient excuse. Are you telling me that AZ could not come up with the funds to build a proper jail over the course of decades? That's BS. They're clearly doing it as a way to punish offenders, and even those who have not been convicted of anything and are awaiting trial (read the last paragraph of www(dot)arpaio(dot)com/blood-on-hands/2.php).
Also, my reference to Arpaio being a racist is not really in relation to the tent jail. Obviously there are all sorts of people in jail, not just minorities. It was more in relation to his other ventures, such as his anti-immigration activities and his 'investigation' of the President's birth certificate.
OK, we live in the 21st Century, chain gangs have NO place
and if you read the news Sheriff Joe has been investigated for misappropriation of over $100 Million in the last five years, including fishing trips to Alaska, trips to Disneyland, a half a million dollar bus and on and on, and he serves his prisoners bologna as a means of frugality - PLEASE! Go away...
Ryan, why are you and so many others carrying on this racist crap? We are literally invaded by people illegally and most of them are from South American countries. Many of us do not like the fact that our immigration laws have been largely ignored and to complete the insult you and others like you want them to go ahead and just stay. We prefer our laws to be enforced for reasons not worth going into here. This has nothing to do with race, we would feel the same of any race or nationality doing this. As for Obama it's pretty much the same thing. Too much to go into there also but race would come in last place on a rather long list.
Swamp coolers don't work so well during Monsoon.
I don't really understand why people are crying so much that prisoners have to stay in tents and work on chain gangs. Since when were criminals guaranteed a plush stay in Club Fed? Cable TV, weight rooms, 3 hots and a cot, etc, etc, etc... seems like more people are worried about convict rights than they are victims and making the criminals WANT to get out of the system.
So what? Joe gives his "guests" bologna sandwhiches...if they wanted steak and potatoes maybe they wouldn't have been doing the crimes that got them behind bars in the first place.
I work in the heat all day...don't expect me to have any sympathy for these crims being forced to go out and pick weeds.
in az. you do the crime.. you do the time.. wow... ok this is awesome...
@RealAmerican: you make sound "Real" like a synonym for "Ridiculous" . Jail time for DUI is already a rather strong punishment. And all will eventually go back to the Society so cutting all links with "normal life" and leaving them entirely between four walls is dangerous. Prison is punishment, but it's also rehab. That's the whole thing with prisons: once your time is done, you have paid back the Society for your mistakes.
Yes once time is served, they have done their part, but this country has this nasty habit of letting people out on parole just to make space. Once they serve ALL their time, I agree, give them a chance to prove they are rehabilitated, but early release in many cases just allows them to pick up where they left off.
Getting in a 2 ton(4000Lb) vehicle and driving it on a public roadway is no different than taking a gun and shooting a bullet down that same roadway, You have put everyones life at risk, Personally I think everyone convicted of a first offense DUI should serve 30 days jail time, If they are unemployed then straight time if they are employed let them serve weekends, Further these women who are working out in the sun are no different than people working for a living out in the hot sun, I do it everyday, I work when it is hot, I work when it is cold, I work when it rains and I work when it snows, The main difference is I do not have to be chained to keep me from running away.
Alakazarm--you do know that almost NO one gets "jail time'' for DUI for the FIRST offense? Most are given EVERY OPPORTUNITY to STOP breaking that little law. So someone in jail for a DUI has most likely either done it so many times the judge has given up on slap on the wrist punishment, or else SOMEONE was injured. (Or major damage to property.)
And Prison is NOT for 'rehab' in that sense--the amount of time served WILL constitute the person getting 'CLEAN' but ONLY the abuser can WANT to not do it again.
Momaid, the Arizona laws are tough! Yes, you do spend at least 24 hours in "tent city" for your very 1st DUI offense.
sounds like a plan to me...like to see more of these in every state.
I love the idea of chain gangs.
Bad girls are HOT!! Literally, in this case. :o)
Would you be surprised to know their offenses are shop lifting and driving on a suspended license? Yes, your little lovely could be in there, too! Think before you write such judgmental comments. YOU WILL BE JUDGED BY GOD, ALMIGHTY. You better hope He has more mercy than you!.
Who cares what the offense is!!! Its breaking the damn law. If my daughter is that dumb after all I taught her and ends up in there, thats her freakin fault!! Deal with it!
And quit bringing your SkyMonster into these discussions! Thats your belief, quit forcing it down everyones throat!!! And please, PLEASE!! Explain to me the difference between your SkyMonster, Zeus, Allah, or any other written about god is again??
Last time I checked teh world was on the Brink and no god is doing anything about it?!?! Oh yeah, free will, must be a Zeus, Allah, God thing.
No one goes to prison or county jail for one shoplifting or driving on a suspended license charge, Quit with the dramatics, These are multiple offence persistent violators and deserve to be exactly where they are.
Michael--again, NO one gets JAIL the first time they are picked up for shoplifting, and you DO know that
the reason their LICENSE is suspended is because they BROKE ANOTHER LAW?
Chicagoans may believe in 'spare the rod' but your crime stats are a pretty potent proof of the efficacy of that policy.
Big deal,they're picking up trash at the side of the road,pulling weeds,and rolling caskets to gravesites.
Jesus Christ! people make it sound like they are in one of Stalins gulags.
Russian gulag, chinese rehabilitation camp, cuban sugar cane harvest, national socialist 100% citizen work policy ...... sounds like a leftist dream come true and a typical outcome when a nation leans left.
What's the big deal, the women volunteer for the chain gang just to get out of jail for a few hours. Every jail in the country should have the same program.
this article is a REPEAT news article. What's the matter MSN couldn't come up with anything else?! I work in a female prison they will just as soon punch you in the face as be nice to you. that includes them all. And no I'm not a correctional officer so I don't wear the uniform!
shalyse17--MSNBC doesn't have a full staff on on weekends, and they tend to rehash old stories.
This one was probably intended to be a 'slam' on Joe Arpaio, which they love to do.
But they will NEVER run a story on the weekend about something that looks bad for this admin.
Which is why Obama has learned to make any 'iffy' announcements on late Friday. Just like SHRUB used to do. Only I seem to recall Obama promising NOT to be 'like Shrub."
This is a "feel good" article extolling the virtues of the wonderful prison system. Conditions are so bad in some state systems, like Texas', where they insource their vast prison network for profit taking in prisoners from other states, that people have committed suicide. There was an article lately about the LA for profit prison system, how county or town sheriffs etc make money for keeping the prisons full. Here is a quote from "Plantations, Prisons and Profits," (look it up).
“Louisiana is the world’s prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana’s incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran’s, seven times China’s and 10 times Germany’s.”
The problem isn't about these particular people in prison during any one period or for whichever offense, it's that there are very few opportunities for people to have a viable living wage etc other than when they are in jail. Jails mean jobs.
There is something very wrong when the government is the largest employer left. Get used to it, as the nation leans further left politically the results are consistant and inevitable.
bring back the chain gangs..You break the law-you go to prison-you get no sympathy from me...
Why the writer choose this topic? She should bring up the fact that in Maricopa County women in jail delivered babies chained. That could be a good topic.
Hopefuly that number would be 100% of those who were serving prison time at time of delivery. I am curious though, unless the baby was born also in shackles for a crime it did not commit itself why would that be of any interest?
delivered babies chained?
That's fine with me.
Cari--Got a source to cite for women in Maricopa county jail giving birth while chained? Because the only time they are chained is while OUT of the prison on work crews, and since that is a voluntary program that the prisoners have to EARN the right to go out by good behavior, I sure doubt that Maricopa county would risk a pregnant woman's health by letting her do that.
Otherwise, your comment was just over-wrought hyperbole.
I would be interested to know the actual figures for criminals who return to the Maricopa County Jail after their first incarceration?
After their first incarceration, they move to more liberal States such as California, New York, and New Jersey. Now their chances of incarceration are lower and if incarcerated, they are paroled in a short period on time. Usually, they are placed on probation and serve no time. Arizona gets rid of these people after one period of incarceration. Can you imagine being placed in jail for DUI or shoplifting in these liberal States?
In NJ, You can be sentenced to jail for a second offense of shoplifting and it is mandatory for a 3rd offense, In NJ you can be sentenced to jail for a first offense of driving with a suspended license if you are involved in an accident with property or personal injury to anyone including yourself, These people are are being sentenced to jail for minor offenses, They are sentenced because they are persistent violators, Just remember that they had to do something first to get their license suspended.
I think the picture that gets to me the most is the one where they just buried someone. At least the poor guy had SOME mourners.
So basically this is supervised community service, a way to make amends to society for an offense against society. Why is that such a bad thing to all the bleeding hearts? My understanding the reason prison work gangs was discontinued was due to prison officials corruption and unions upset about work members could be doing, not that the labor itself was in any way inappropriate. Just like most of the practises of the Maricopa justice system this is a return to common sense and good policing! Not only does it teach good work ethics to some who never had any it gives a day of exercise in the fresh air, discipline waking at a regular scheduled morning time for the first time in their lives, for some the first time in their lives they are being productive, saves taxpayer money (always a good thing in todays entitlement mentality) and gives the prisoners the chance to see different parts of area they reside in, a wonderful example of equal work for women and male inmates! ..... a win win situation that even a liberal has to applaud.
Obviously, the prison industry is a part of big business, capitalism; Nonetheless, the chain gang ladies may have a leg to stand on (legally) against the Maricopa county law enforcement folk relative to overcrowding/living in tents.
What the girls need to do is obey the law. Then they wouldn't have any problems.
Here's to equal rights for women!
good idea.....we need more of them doing this...but only not have it volunteer......"breaking rocks in the hot sun...I fought the law and the law won"
Really? Put the female convict to work while the male convict just sits on his ass? WTF?!?
Get back in the kitchen.
And make me a sammich, woman!!
YYAWannaNO--PLEASE. Did you not read the story's TITLE? This is the only ALL FEMALE chain gang. Men have been in chain gangs for as long as I can remember.
And for THEM it is ALSO voluntary, and requires that they be on good behavior in order to qualify.
There needs to be more, not less, picking up trash along the Interstates in all the USA- Terrible the filth that is endlessly scattered across our fair nation! God bless every convict- may they become Brothers and Sisters in Christ soon, join our forever family- because only The God of love can change hearts, I know- He changed mine!
I watched a program the other day on TV with men in a Russian prison. The majority of them only committed mild crimes (stealing food, etc.). One man said he got 5 years in prison and is in isolation for those entire 5 years. No family visits, poor quality of food, unsanitary conditions. If these women think they have it bad, you committ a crime in Russia. They had 2 men that had committed a crime in America and they made a comment how different the prison system was. Don't complain about what little heat you have to put up with or what little mistreatment you get. You committed the crime, I didn't. You don't like prison, then you shouldn't have done it.
I believe chain gangs should be mandatory in every prison in this country. Work the losers until they drop or, try to run. If they run, drop them into eternity. I have no sympathy for these wastes of tax dollars.
I don't understand why these women are in prison. Surely, they were victims.
Victims of stupidity. If one breaks into my house they will never be in a chain gang. If my pitbull does not get them , then my 44 magnum will.
Back to the kitchen and make me a sammich woman!!
Ma Courie in da house--surely you jest. I bet you think that Paris Hilton was badly treated too. Do you think she learned ONE thing about driving drunk or any of the other things she was arrested for over and over, but the judge just kept letting her go? Even when she finally got actuallly SENTENCED she did, what, a couple of days? And bawled like a baby even tho she was held in solitary confinement to protect her from other inmates who might have felt like she was a spoiled little rich girl, which is exactly what she was.
NONE of the women on this chain gang were victims.
I think the whole chain gang idea is great, for men and women, We could update the methods a bit by using canine type training collars instead of chains. When one inmate tries to run they all get a jolt. After the first time no one will run. They will police their own.
Have the draconian methods of the sheiriff of Maracopo county reduce crime? Since he still has tent city for the overflow doesn't seem like it.
I have no problem with using inmates for the jobs described in the article. Other cities and counties do it all the time. For example, the city of New York uses Riker island inmates to bury indigents in potters field. I do have a problem with the chain. The chain is not for security but to degrade and humiliate the inmate. It may help Joe Arpaio feel good, but does it reduce re-offending.
Has the liberal policies of places like Los Angelos California, Detroit Michigan or Chicago Illinois reduced their crime rate...I think you will find Sheriff Joes method work much better.
The chain is not for security but to degrade and humiliate the inmate
It keeps them from running away.