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60-429: A chain gang is a system of labor (usually forced) that involves groups of prisoners chained together doing menial labor. Chain gang may also refer to: Chain gang A single ankle shackle with a short length of chain attached to a heavy ball is known as a ball and chain . It limited prisoner movement and impeded escape. Two ankle shackles attached to each other by a short length of chain are known as

120-455: A hobble or as leg irons . These could be chained to a much longer chain with several other prisoners, creating a work crew known as a chain gang . The walk required to avoid tripping while in leg irons is known as the convict shuffle. A group of prisoners working outside prison walls under close supervision, but without chains, is a work gang . Their distinctive attire (stripe wear or orange vests or jumpsuits ) and shaven heads served

180-568: A credit card fraud case involving the Arizona Diamondbacks and a mortgage fraud case in Arpaio's home city of Fountain Hills. When county supervisors provided more than $ 600,000 to fund six additional detective positions to investigate child abuse in fiscal 2007, none were added to the sex-crimes squad. Sheriff's administrators concluded they had no idea where positions were added or what became of

240-480: A " concentration camp " — as a temporary extension of the Maricopa County Jail for convicted and sentenced prisoners. It was located in a yard next to a more permanent structure. He later claimed that the "concentration camp" remark had been a joke, pointing out: "What difference does it make? I still survived. I still kept getting re-elected.” In 1997, Amnesty International said Arpaio's tent city jail

300-584: A candidate in the Republican primary for Maricopa County Attorney, and Arizona Attorney General candidate Tom Horne , despite the fact that Arpaio was not running for re-election at the time (his term did not expire until the end of 2012). In August 2010, following the filing of complaints to the Maricopa Elections Department, the Office of Maricopa County Attorney found that one of the advertisements,

360-487: A case can be cleared by exception only when a perpetrator's identity and location is known and there is sufficient evidence to support prosecution, but, due to special circumstances (such as the suspect dying, or extradition not being possible), an arrest cannot be made. In an interview on the ABC 's Nightline news program, when asked to explain why 82 percent of cases were declared cleared by exception, Arpaio said, "We do clear

420-432: A crime has been or is being committed." In July 2017, he was convicted of criminal contempt of court , a crime for which he was pardoned by President Donald Trump on August 25, 2017. In a separate racial-profiling case which concluded in 2013, Arpaio and his subordinates were found to have unfairly targeted Hispanics in conducting traffic stops. Although Arpaio sought another term as Maricopa County Sheriff in 2016,

480-537: A deterrent on crime in a pilot project. Ex-convict Larry Lawton , critical of this move, said, "Chain gangs send a bad message about our county", adding "I don't think people want to come to this county as a tourist or a beach person and see people in chains." Instead he proposed a better use of law enforcement resources would be to combat drug addiction because he says it is a "contributing factor" to criminal activity. Sheriff Joe Arpaio Joseph Michael Arpaio ( / ɑːr ˈ p aɪ oʊ / ; born June 14, 1932)

540-439: A direct mailer, advocated the defeat of Romley and was an in-kind contribution to Bill Montgomery (Romley's primary election opponent), in violation of Arizona election law. The order stated that a civil penalty in the amount of three times the amount of money spent on the mailer would be imposed on Campaign to Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012. In September 2010, Arpaio's campaign was fined $ 153,978. Montgomery ultimately defeated Romley in

600-519: A free way for these works to be achieved. The use of chain gangs for prison labor was the preferred method of punishment in some Southern states like Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. Abuses in chain gangs led to reform and to their general elimination by 1955. There were still chain gangs in the South in December 1955. Chain gangs experienced

660-518: A grand jury indict a number of Maricopa County judges, Maricopa County supervisors, and employees of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The grand jury, in an unusual rebuke, ordered the investigation ended. This action has been described as meaning that "the case is so bad, there's no further evidence that could be brought" to substantiate it. Legal experts agreed this was a rare move. Arpaio and Thomas lost every case, either by ruling of

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720-628: A higher percentage of that. I know that. We clear many, many cases – not 18 percent." Nightline contacted the MCSO after the interview and was told that of 7,346 crimes, only 944, or 15%, had been cleared by arrest. Under Arpaio, the MCSO may have improperly cleared (reported as solved) as many as 75% of cases without arrest or proper investigation. During a three-year period ending in 2007, more than 400 sex crimes reported to Arpaio's office were inadequately investigated or not investigated at all. While providing police services for El Mirage, Arizona ,

780-470: A notice of claim against Arpaio and Maricopa County for gross negligence. In April 2015, the case settled for $ 3.5 million. An internal memo written by one of the detectives assigned to the Morrison case blamed a high case load, saying the special victims unit had gone from five detectives to just three, and the detectives left were often called off their cases to investigate special assignments. These included

840-455: A number of government-corruption investigations targeting political opponents, including judges, county supervisors and administrators. These investigations resulted in: lawsuits against the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, a federal civil-racketeering suit against the supervisors, four judges, and attorneys who worked with the county; and filing of criminal charges against several individuals. In early 2010, Arpaio and Thomas sought to have

900-565: A public uproar over the arrests, all charges were dropped against Lacey and Larkin. Lacey and Larkin filed a federal Section 1983 lawsuit for the violations of their civil rights, and in 2012 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that they could sue the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for the arrests. In 2013, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted to settle the suit for $ 3.75 million. Lacey and Larkin used

960-687: A resurgence when Alabama began to use them again in 1995; they still existed in 1997. Several jurisdictions in the United States have re-introduced prison labor. In 1995 Sheriff Joe Arpaio reintroduced chain gangs in Arizona . A year after reintroducing the chain gang in 1995, Alabama was forced to again abandon the practice pending a lawsuit from the Southern Poverty Law Center , among other organizations. The SPLC's attorney, J. Richard Cohen , said, "They realized that chaining them together

1020-403: A setting where they may be near the public (a courthouse) or have an opportunity to flee (being transferred from a prison to a court). Although prisoners in these restraints are sometimes chained to one another during transport or other movement, this is not a chain gang—although reporters may refer to it as such—because the restraints make any kind of manual work impossible. Various claims as to

1080-489: Is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He was the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017, losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone in 2016. Starting in 2005, Arpaio took an outspoken stance against illegal immigration , styling himself as " America's Toughest Sheriff ". In 2010, he became a flashpoint for opposition to Arizona's SB1070 anti-illegal immigrant law, which

1140-499: Is not intended for oversight on how law enforcement agencies clear cases... The Sheriff's Office has its own criteria for clearing cases." The Arizona Department of Public Safety , which serves as the repository for Arizona case clearance statistics, told 12 News that the guidelines in the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook are mandatory for all Arizona law enforcement agencies. Those guidelines specify that

1200-489: The Arizona Attorney General . "Were this a criminal case," the panel concluded, "we are confident that the evidence would establish this conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt." At least 11 individuals filed lawsuits or legal claims as a result of being targeted by Arpaio and Thomas. The county settled all 11 cases: In February 2010, Pima County Superior Court Judge John S. Leonardo found that Arpaio "misused

1260-452: The Colony of New South Wales was expanded by Governor Ralph Darling as part of his infrastructure program. Their tasks included "breaking rocks, clearing trees, [and] constructing stone culverts and bridges". In 1828, the colony's chief surveyor Edmund Lockyer directed that each iron gang could contain up to 60 men, supervised by one main overseer and three assistants. The iron gangs "received

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1320-630: The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). During his 25-year tenure with the DEA, he was stationed in Argentina , Turkey , and Mexico , and advanced through the ranks to the position of head of the DEA's Arizona branch. After leaving the DEA, Arpaio became involved in a travel venture through his wife's travel agency Starworld Travel Agency, based in Scottsdale . While there, he sold passage on

1380-519: The Hunter Valley and the road from Sydney to Bathurst over the Blue Mountains . The leg irons were installed by blacksmiths using hot rivets , and then attached to a single "gang chain" to allow for control by an overseer. The irons and chains could weigh as much as 4.5 kilograms (9.9 lb) or more. Some of the convicts on iron gangs were as young as 11 years old. The use of iron gangs in

1440-547: The Selective Service System . In November 2010, Arpaio created an armed illegal immigration operations posse to help his deputies enforce immigration law . Members of the posse included actors Steven Seagal , Lou Ferrigno , and Peter Lupus . Because the MCSO lost its authority to enforce immigration law (both by losing its 287(g) authority and through a federal court order in Melendres v. Arpaio ), as of 2013 ,

1500-743: The Arizona Ecumenical Council, the American Jewish Committee , and the Arizona chapter of the Anti-Defamation League . The editorial board of The New York Times called Arpaio "America's Worst Sheriff". Controversies surrounding Arpaio included allegations of racial profiling , for which the ACLU sued the sheriff's office. In 2000 it was claimed that the sheriff's office failed to properly investigate serious crimes, including

1560-710: The Army from 1950 to 1954 in the Medical Department and was stationed in France for part of the time as a military policeman. Following his army discharge in 1954, Arpaio moved to Washington, D.C. , and became a police officer, moving in 1957 to Las Vegas , Nevada . He served as a police officer in Las Vegas for six months before being appointed as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics , which later became part of

1620-442: The MCSO under Arpaio failed to follow through on at least 32 reported child molestations, even though the suspects were known in all but six cases. Many of the victims were children of illegal immigrants. In a controversial case, Arpaio's office was accused of ignoring Sabrina Morrison, a teenage girl suffering from a mental disability . On March 7, 2007, the 13-year-old was raped by her uncle, Patrick Morrison. She told her teacher

1680-578: The Maricopa County jails violated the constitutional rights of inmates in medical and other care-related issues. In 2013, National Geographic Channel featured Arpaio's jail in the Banged Up Abroad episode of "Raving Arizona". The episode told the story of the Ecstasy dealer Shaun Attwood who started the blog Jon's Jail Journal . In 1993, Arpaio set up a " Tent City " — which he described as

1740-533: The Phoenix E space rocket, which was hoped to take off from either Edwards Air Force Base or Vandenberg Air Force Base on the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the new world. Although he claimed in 1988 that the first 19 flights of the Phoenix E had been booked, no flights were ever made. Arpaio was first elected as sheriff in 1992. He was re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. Throughout his tenure as sheriff Arpaio sought out media coverage. He

1800-476: The Tent City jail would be shut down. In 1995, Arpaio reinstituted chain gangs . In 1996, he expanded the chain gang concept by instituting female volunteer chain gangs. Female inmates worked seven hours a day (7 a.m. to 2 p.m.), six days a week. He also instituted the world's first all-juvenile volunteer chain gang; volunteers earned high school credit toward a diploma. One of Arpaio's public relations actions

1860-485: The articles. The ban was challenged on First Amendment grounds, but was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit . In February 2007, Arpaio instituted an in-house radio station he called KJOE, broadcasting classical music, opera, Frank Sinatra hits, patriotic music, and educational programming five days a week, four hours each day. Federal Judge Neil V. Wake ruled in 2008 and 2010 that

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1920-445: The contempt of court charge eroded much of his remaining political support, and he was defeated in the election by Paul Penzone , a Democrat who reversed many of Arpaio's policies after taking office. Arpaio was an unsuccessful candidate in Arizona's Republican primary election for U.S. Senate in 2018 . In 2020, Arpaio failed in his attempt to become the Maricopa County Sheriff again. In 2022 and 2024, he lost in his attempts to unseat

1980-429: The course of his career, Arpaio was the subject of several federal civil rights lawsuits. In one case, he was a defendant in a decade-long suit in which a federal court issued an injunction barring him from conducting further "immigration round-ups". A federal court subsequently found that after the order was issued, Arpaio's office continued to detain "persons for further investigation without reasonable suspicion that

2040-570: The courts or by dropping the case. Arpaio's and Thomas' actions in these matters led to Thomas' disbarment by a disciplinary panel of the Arizona Supreme Court , which found that Thomas "outrageously exploited power, flagrantly fostered fear, and disgracefully misused the law" while serving as Maricopa County Attorney. The panel found "clear and convincing evidence" that Thomas brought unfounded and malicious criminal and civil charges against political opponents, including four state judges and

2100-586: The detention fund to pay for investigations of political rivals, as well as activities involving his human-smuggling unit. The analysis also showed a number of inappropriate spending items including a trip to Alaska where deputies stayed at a fishing resort, and trips to Disneyland. Separate investigations by The Arizona Republic uncovered widespread abuse of public funds and county policies by Arpaio's office, including high-ranking employees routinely charging expensive meals and stays at luxury hotels on their county credit cards. The Republic also found that

2160-562: The immigration posse is no longer active. While the MCSO website claimed 3,000 posse members, as of July 29, 2015, the posse had 986 members. Arpaio was a controversial sheriff. His practices were criticized by government agencies such as the United States Department of Justice and United States district courts , as well as organizations such as Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),

2220-546: The incumbent mayor of Fountain Hills, Arizona . Arpaio was born in Springfield, Massachusetts , on June 14, 1932, to Italian parents, both from Lacedonia, Italy . Arpaio's mother died while giving birth to him , and he was raised by his father, who ran an Italian grocery store. Arpaio completed high school and worked in his father's business until age 18 when he enlisted in the United States Army . He served in

2280-470: The iron ground against their skin. Gangrene and other infections were serious risks. Falls could imperil several individuals at once. Modern prisoners are sometimes put into handcuffs or wrist manacles (similar to handcuffs, but with a longer length of chain) and leg irons, with both sets of manacles (wrist and ankle) being chained to a belly chain . This form of restraint is most often used on prisoners expected to be violent, or prisoners appearing in

2340-503: The money after it was added to the budget. In October 2007, Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin, the founders and leaders of the Phoenix New Times , were arrested after publishing a news article on a grand jury investigation involving Arpaio's office. On the evening that the article was published, Lacey and Larkin were arrested by plainclothes sheriff's deputies, "handcuffed, put in dark SUVs with tinted windows and driven to jail." Following

2400-414: The money. Arpaio's success in gaining press coverage with the pink underwear resulted in his extending the use of the color. He introduced pink handcuffs, using the event to promote his book, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, America's Toughest Sheriff . Arpaio has said "I can get elected on pink underwear... I've done it five times." In 2004, Arpaio ordered all undocumented immigrants then in jail to register for

2460-477: The next day, and her teacher called the MCSO. A rape kit was taken, but the detective assigned to the case told Sabrina and her family that there were no obvious signs of sexual assault, no semen, or signs of trauma. As a result of the detective's statements, Sabrina was branded by her family as a liar. Her uncle continued to rape her repeatedly, saying he would kill her if she told anyone. She became pregnant by him, and had an abortion. The family did not know that

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2520-461: The power of his office to target members of the Board of Supervisors for criminal investigation". As of June 2014, costs to Maricopa County taxpayers related to Arpaio's and Thomas's failed corruption investigations exceeded $ 44 million, not including staff time. In July 2010, a committee established by Arpaio (the "Campaign to Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012") funded advertisements critical of Rick Romley ,

2580-545: The primary election, with Romley stating Arpaio's ads "hurt" his results. An analysis by the Maricopa County Office of Management and Budget, completed in April 2011, found that Arpaio had misspent almost $ 100 million over the previous 5 years. The analysis showed that money from a restricted detention fund which could legally be used only to pay for jail items, such as food, detention officers' salaries, and equipment,

2640-580: The proceeds of the settlement to establish an endowed chair professorship at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University , and to establish the Lacey & Larkin Frontera Fund, which advocates for migrant rights and freedom of speech issues in Arizona. Between 2008 and 2010, Arpaio and former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas together undertook

2700-554: The provincial Liberals which formed another majority government in the subsequent general election. According to their own policies, Britain First (a British far-right political organization) want to re-introduce chain gangs "to provide labour for national public works". This is part of their aim to turn prisons from "cosy holiday camps" into "a place of hard labour". In 2013, Brevard County Jail in Sharpes, Florida reintroduced chain gangs as

2760-509: The purpose of chain gangs have been offered. These include: In the Australian penal colonies , chain gangs were also referred to as "iron gangs". They were used as a punishment for convicts who reoffended after being transported . Iron gangs were frequently employed on the construction of roads in remote areas where escape was a possibility, such as on the Great North Road from Sydney to

2820-481: The purpose of displaying their punishment to the public, as well as making them identifiable if they attempted to escape. However, the public was often brutal, swearing at convicts and even throwing things at them. The use of chains could be hazardous. Some of the chains used in the Georgia system in the first half of the 20th century weighed 20 pounds (9 kg). Some prisoners suffered from shackle sores —ulcers where

2880-405: The rape kit had been tested at the state lab and showed the presence of semen. The lab requested that the detective obtain a blood sample from the suspect, Patrick Morrison. Instead of obtaining the blood sample, or making an arrest, the detective filed the crime-lab note and closed the case for four years. In September 2011 the sheriff's office obtained a blood sample from Patrick Morrison, which

2940-401: The rape of a 14-year-old girl by classmates, and the rape of a 15-year-old girl by two strangers. These cases were reported as "exceptionally cleared" (solved) by the MCSO without investigation or, in one instance, without even identifying a suspect – in contravention of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) standards for exceptional clearance. In the case of the 15-year-old girl, the case

3000-444: The soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths!" On July 2, 2011, when the temperature in Phoenix hit 118 °F (48 °C), Arpaio measured the temperature inside these tents at 145 °F (63 °C). Some inmates complained that fans near their beds were not working, and that their shoes were melting from the heat. In April 2017, it was announced by newly elected Sheriff Paul Penzone that

3060-509: The worst and least trustworthy characters, together with the strictest security measures". Better-behaved convicts still worked in gangs but were unshackled. Convicts who escaped from iron gangs were described as "bolters" and became some of the first bushrangers . The introduction of chain gangs into the United States began after the American Civil War . The Southern states needed finances and public works to be performed. Prisoners were

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3120-525: Was a DNA match with the semen taken over four years earlier. Patrick Morrison was arrested and charged in February 2012; he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. In December 2011, responding to continuing media coverage of the controversy, and apparently unaware that there were hundreds of victims in these cases, Arpaio stated in a press conference, "If there were any victims, I apologize to those victims." In August 2012, Sabrina Morrison filed

3180-727: Was appointed to oversee his office's operations because of complaints of racial profiling . The U.S. Department of Justice concluded that Arpaio oversaw the worst pattern of racial profiling in U.S. history, and subsequently filed suit against him for unlawful discriminatory police conduct. Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) were named as defendants in dozens of civil lawsuits brought by citizens arrested by Arpaio and his deputies alleging wrongful arrest, wrongful death , entrapment and other claims, costing taxpayers in Maricopa County over $ 140 million in litigation against Arpaio during his tenure as sheriff. Over

3240-521: Was closed within one month and before DNA testing was even complete, a 13-year-old's because her mother did not want to "pursue this investigation," and the 14-year-old's because a suspect declined to appear for questioning. In a statement to ABC15, the sheriff's office claimed "The Goldwater Institute's report cites the FBI's Uniform Code [sic] Reporting handbook , which is a voluntary crime-reporting program to compile statistical information and reports. The UCR

3300-711: Was featured and profiled by news media worldwide and claimed to average 200 television appearances per month. In late 2008 and early 2009, Arpaio appeared in Smile...You're Under Arrest! , a three-episode Fox Reality Channel series in which persons with outstanding warrants were tricked into presenting themselves for arrest. Arpaio's jail detention practices included serving inmates Nutraloaf and edibles recovered from food rescue and limiting meals to twice daily. He also banned inmates from possessing "sexually explicit material" including Playboy magazine, after female officers complained that inmates openly masturbated while viewing

3360-555: Was inefficient; that it was unsafe". Alabama Prison Commissioner Ron Jones was fired in 1996 for trying to put female prisoners on chain gangs. However, as late as 2000, Jones had proposed reintroducing the chain gang. In 2011, Tim Hudak , former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in Canada , campaigned on introducing penal labour in the province, referred to by many as chain gangs. He lost seats to

3420-628: Was largely struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States . Arpaio is also known for investigating former U.S. President Barack Obama 's birth certificate , and, as of 2018 , he continued to claim without evidence that it was forged. Arpaio has been accused of numerous types of police misconduct , including abuse of power, misuse of funds, failure to investigate sex crimes, criminal negligence, abuse of suspects in custody, improper clearance of cases, unlawful enforcement of immigration laws , and election law violations. A Federal court monitor

3480-526: Was not an "adequate or humane alternative to housing inmates in suitable ... jail facilities." Tent City was criticized by groups contending that there were violations of human and constitutional rights. Arpaio stated he reserved the punishment of living in Tent City "for those who have been convicted." During the summer of 2003, when outside temperatures exceeded 110 °F (43 °C), Arpaio said to complaining inmates, "It's 120 degrees [49 °C] in Iraq and

3540-468: Was the requirement that inmates wear pink underwear in order to prevent its theft by the released inmates. He claimed this saved the county $ 70,000 in the first year the rule was in effect. Arpaio subsequently started to sell customized pink boxers (with the Maricopa County Sheriff's logo and "Go Joe") as a fund-raiser for Sheriff's Posse Association. Despite allegations of misuse of funds received from these sales, Arpaio declined to provide an accounting for

3600-451: Was used to pay employees to patrol Maricopa County. The analysis also showed that many sheriff's office employees, whose salaries were paid from the restricted detention fund, were working job assignments different from those recorded in their personnel records. Arpaio's office kept a separate set of personnel books detailing actual work assignments, different from information kept in the county's official human resources records. Arpaio used

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