Chain Gangs, Animal Shelters, and Sheriff Arpaio

I recently received an email report by Constantine Tsimpris on Sheriff Arpaio and felt moved to write a little about it. It defends some of the controversial things the Arizona sheriff does, such as housing inmates in tents in the desert where the temperature exceeds 110F, and starting chain gangs for the inmates.

First, I'd like to address keeping prisoners in harsh conditions. If a man commits a crime against person or property without killing anyone, then his punishment may justly include imprisonment, but not death. If any of the prisoners at Maricopa County, AZ die from heat stroke, then they suffer unjust punishment, and Sheriff Arpaio and those under him who assist in keeping prisoners in extreme heat are guilty of murder, or at least manslaughter.

Next, I'd like to address chain gangs. There is nothing wrong with involuntary servitude when it is to pay restitution for criminal wrongdoing. The whole purpose of criminal justice is to give back what is wrongly taken. If someone steals from you, you have the right to steal back what they stole (and you don't necessarily need permission from any official to take back what's yours). Taking without consent is itself an act of enslavement, since those who do it profit off of the labor of others without those others' consent. So making someone give back what they stole is itself an act of enslavement (but a just one). Theoretically, there's nothing wrong with forcing offenders to work. If the damage they did amounts to $4,000, then you have the right to (a) take $4,000 worth of goods from them, (b) garnish $4,000 from their wages if they're not that rich yet, or - if they don't look stable enough to ever accumulate $4,000 worth of anything - (c) compel them to work a given job until they produce a net worth of $4,000.

Sheriff Arpaio's programs in Maricopa County are a little step towards option (c). His county's inmates run the local animal shelter. "They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street". The prisoners are paid $0.28 an hour, from the fees collected for animal adoptions. In other words, they produce a net amount of wealth. In a free penal market the inmates' wages might be higher, and they might more realistically be able pay for their offenses. But this does look like a step forward. Though Arpaio's other things are notably repulsive, this one thing merits some praise. It's good to hear that prisoners are put to something more useful to themselves and others than sitting in a cell all day.

Of course, it would be much better to hear about the decriminalization of all drugs and all other victimless "crimes".