Jail is a luxury that was cost prohibitive for most of human history. Debilitating punishments and executions were the least worst options available for most of human history. Incarceration is a relatively new thing and coincides with the wealthy places during wealthy times. Incarceration is expensive even at its cheapest.
I'd say that considering the debt that governments are carrying, we might be forced to go back to much cheaper forms of justice. Sorry, but we can't afford to pay for every buttard in the country to have three free hots and a cot for years and decades on end.
Would that be Sheriff Joe's idea? The only problem I have with that is he was a sheriff, which means that most of his prisoners had yet to be convicted, thus innocent in the eyes of the law. Make the guy a warden, and I'm totally cool with treating convicted felons like that.
A past sheriff here started a culinary school in the jail and succeeded in some inmates getting jobs and not returning, and reducing labor costs in getting the jailbirds fed. For that and other things he did to help inmates the DA charged the sheriff with everything under the sun. I was on the grand jury and with a couple other guys made sure the sheriff was not indicted. The sheriff was a scrounger and a beggar and a bender of rules but never put a dime in his own pocket, just tried to do what he could for the inmates with no additional cost to the taxpayer. He could have been indicted on nitpicking and far stretched technicalities. We screwed that DA over for being such a prick and a nitpicking sniveler. The newspaper had been covering it like the sheriff was going to the big house for sure. Yeah, they had to eat a lot of crow.
Personally I think a lot of the laws we have should either be abolished or punished by a 1 ounce slug to the forehead after a trial and single appeal. Murder and rape should almost always result in a death penalty, subject to the details of the case of course. Crimes like selling raw milk should be abolished.
I'm sure that Arpaio was well liked in Maricopa, else he wouldn't have kept his job for so long. My problem is that county jails are notorious for being worse than prisons, yet the vast majority of the inmates in jails are not convicted felons. They are still innocent men. I know because I was in a county jail for a few days, and let me tell you that it sucked! I just couldn't get past the idea that I had done nothing wrong, but there I was sitting there staring at a stainless steel toilet with no toilet seat, and a huge poo stain in the front, and monday was a long ass time from friday night. Oh, and the jail issue boxers and socks weren't exactly keepers, either!
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...le-like-animals-they-behave-like-9155241.html Not sure I'd like the luxury of jail as I've always been a believer of things coming out of your bottom not going into it.
The reason behind the tent City was that the plumbing in the original jail was declared unsafe and could not be used for humans. Maricopa county came up with the tent City plan. These are large field tents used by the military. If it is good enough for our service members, then it's good enough for criminals. On a side note, the Jai was turned over to animal control and the SPCA, so the animals had AC, good move.
Jail bloat is mostly a function of the drug sentencing guidelines, creative manipulation of volumes and counts with respect to drug offenses, eroded burdens of proof making prosecuting ANYONE for ANYTHING, guilty or not, a cakewalk, and civil contempt associated with failure to pay child support. Those bad policies are what needs examining and oversight.
My spouse and I always joke about that....if we ever face hard times we'll just do something to get thrown in the hoosegow...free food , free computers, free clothes, TV, FREE health care, ...and we don't have to drive !!
I think I understand what you're trying to say, but your statement that incarceration is a new thing in not really accurate, and that seems to weaken your overall effort. Yes, our prisons are very expensive and mostly counter-productive--they cause more harm than good.
We each have a moral responsibility to pick and choose which laws we obey balanced by a practical responsibility to get away with it. Compliance with law is no good excuse for being complicit with what is immoral, evil or unjust. Incarceration as the norm, is a very "new thing". Corporal punishment was the norm for the vast majority of human history. Prisons have largely replaced corporal punishment; however, neither prison or corporal punishment is intended to be, or do, good. Punishment is, in and of itself, not-good. The expectation that prison would do someone some good makes about as much sense as a lashing, or an amputation, or a hanging doing someone some good. Prison is a punishment.
The sheriff who started the culinary school in the jail was a republican. The DA who tried to indict him was a democrat.