I feel like crying

[rgraham666]

After reading this article.

I wonder why it's allowable for psychopaths to be jailers.

 

[cloudy]

I'm not surprised, to be honest.

Our justice system is so fucked up that to even call it a justice system is ridiculous. Those with money are well-treated and at least stand a chance at getting a fair trial. Those who don't have the funds to hire the best attorneys don't stand a chance at all - even if they're innocent of the crime they've been charged with. That's why so many people take plea bargains.

I know. Been there, done that. In my short (three hour) stint in our county jail, the guy in charge (warden? I don't know his title) got one of the women alone in the elevator - she was handcuffed behind her back - and beat the hell out of her because she'd managed to smuggle out a letter to the ACLU that described the treatment people receive in our lovely county jail.

Anyone who still believes that our courts are fair is either extremely naive, or fooling themselves. And, from what I saw of Canada's court system, it's just as fucked up as ours is.

 

[Liar]

Aricle is from 1997. I wonder what the outcome and effect of the lawsuit was.

 

[SweetPrettyAss]

After reading this article.

I wonder why it's allowable for psychopaths to be jailers.

To answer your question, most normal people wouldn't want to be jailers. It takes a certain kind of mind to want to be in a position to abuse and punish other people with little or no fear of any kind of retribution. Such a kind of mind is little different from that of a psychopath.

 

[lesbiaphrodite]

Having spent time in county lock-up myself, I can tell you that this kind of behavior among guards and jail staff is completely normal. Being a 'psychopath' is kind of the requirement to do that kind of work, in my humble opinion. I never met a decent 'screw'..'stick-thumper'...in my life. Perverted blockheads who want to hurt others is what they are. It's the simple reality of jail life. Strip searches, humiliation of inmates, regular debasement....all standard operating procedure. Spend one night in county lock-up and you'll get an education.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Having spent time in county lock-up myself, I can tell you that this kind of behavior among guards and jail staff is completely normal. Being a 'psychopath' is kind of the requirement to do that kind of work, in my humble opinion. I never met a decent 'screw'..'stick-thumper'...in my life. Perverted blockheads who want to hurt others is what they are. It's the simple reality of jail life. Strip searches, humiliation of inmates, regular debasement....all standard operating procedure. Spend one night in county lock-up and you'll get an education.

Even if someone wasn't a thug when they went into the job, peer pressure from other guards and sociopathic prisoners make you one really quick. I was stationed in the Presidio San Francisco stockade as the Counselor/Social Worker back in the early '70's and I watched it happen despite all the attempts of the sergeant in charge to keep his guards in line. Come night shift . . .

 

[matriarch]

To their shame, the people of Maricopa County, Phoenix, still elect Sheriff Jo as their sheriff, year after year after year. The older people love him and his 'regime'.

The man is a sadistic bully. Detested by most normal people. He's a publicity seeker, and delights in treating every one of his inmates as sub-human. You treat people as sub human, they will never improve, or have any desire to improve. I could see 'revenge' and 'anger' as being the main responses to his treatment. And the system allows it, because he is constantly elected.

I abhor any system that allows those in charge of prisons and the police force to be elected. Thank god we don't have that system here.

 

[lesbiaphrodite]

To their shame, the people of Maricopa County, Phoenix, still elect Sheriff Jo as their sheriff, year after year after year. The older people love him and his 'regime'.

The man is a sadistic bully. Detested by most normal people. He's a publicity seeker, and delights in treating every one of his inmates as sub-human. You treat people as sub human, they will never improve, or have any desire to improve. I could see 'revenge' and 'anger' as being the main responses to his treatment. And the system allows it, because he is constantly elected.

I abhor any system that allows those in charge of prisons and the police force to be elected. Thank god we don't have that system here.

Oh yes. Here in my home town, the election for sheriff is under way. The cruel and horrific man who is currently in that position is sure to get re-elected b/c the public wants him to continue his reign of terror.

 

[rgraham666]

Oh yes. Here in my home town, the election for sheriff is under way. The cruel and horrific man who is currently in that position is sure to get re-elected b/c the public wants him to continue his reign of terror.

Right up until the point that it's their balls in the vise.

If I were an evil person I'd start phoning the police anonymously on their 'supporters'. Let them spend a little while being a 'criminal'. I bet they'd change their minds in a hurry.

 

[alyxen]

Aricle is from 1997. I wonder what the outcome and effect of the lawsuit was.

The wiki entry to Joe has bullet points for the lawsuits against him, if that gives you any indication. Didn't take the time to check other sources, but wiki lists the settlement at $800,000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Arpaio#The_Richard_Post_case

Quote from the wiki entry:

The Richard Post case

Richard Post was a paraplegic inmate arrested in 1996 for possession of marijuana and criminal trespass. Post was placed in a restraint chair by guards and his neck was broken in the process. The event, caught on video, shows guards smiling and laughing while Post is being injured. Because of his injuries, Post has lost much of the use of his arms.[31] Post settled his claims against the Sheriff's office for $800,000.[32]

 

[SlickTony]

A friend of mine who's serving time right now sent me this riddle:

Q: What happens when a prison guard takes Viagra?






A: He gets taller.

 

[wehstar]

I'm not happy. I'm not happy about this at all.

Why don't they bring back pre-trial public stonings?

 

[glynndah]

I wonder when the malpractice insurance carriers are going to stop paying for his settlements.

 

[NoJo]

Oh yes. Here in my home town, the election for sheriff is under way. The cruel and horrific man who is currently in that position is sure to get re-elected b/c the public wants him to continue his reign of terror.

That sherrif sounds familiar. Do you live in Nottingham in medieval times?

 

[shereads]

I wonder why it's allowable for psychopaths to be jailers.

First you have to ask yourself why anyone would want to be a jailer. Power over people who have to comply, or else? It doesn't surprise me that jobs like that get more than their share of applicants who are there for the sanctioned power-trip.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I have an uncle who chose being a jail guard as his second career when he took early retirement from his first. From what my father has said, he's always been a sadistic and sociopathic type. From what my mother said, he met her iron frying pan once.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I wonder when the malpractice insurance carriers are going to stop paying for his settlements.

I suppose it's the county who is being sued, rather than the sheriff personaly. The county might have to make the payoffs themselves.

 

[The_Fractal_King]

The Stanford Prison Experiment went a long way toward proving that being a jailer can easily turn people into that. Of course there might be some predisposition to the behavior but I doubt prisons generally let in people with obvious signs of an unstable or dangerous personality (unfortunately some true psychopaths can breeze through attempts to find that out).

 

[glynndah]

I suppose it's the county who is being sued, rather than the sheriff personaly. The county might have to make the payoffs themselves.

I'm not sure by any means, but I'll bet most counties have insurance to cover these sorts of things.

 

[R. Richard]

I notice that a lot of you seem to have some issues with prison/jail guards. Perhaps someone could explain why you don't seem to have the same issues with free range scumbags? It's basically the same situation, except the free range scumbags don't have as much immediate help.

Some of you really sensitive types may have detected that I don't like scumbags very much. One of the reason is that I can see that there doesn't appear to be much difference in the prison/jail scumbag and the free range scumbag, with one important difference. The free range scumbag has to deal with customers who may be armed. That last is a really important factor.

JMNTHO

 

[Varian P]

After reading this article.

I wonder why it's allowable for psychopaths to be jailers.

I generally expect individuals who find themselves in circumstances where they wield almost unlimited power over others, to slide into perversity--especially in any situation where there powerless person has dehumanized status--criminal, enemy combatant, etc. For example, it's well-documented that a common way prison guards 'punish' unruly or simply despised prisoners is to leave them cuffed inside their cell and then give access to other inmates and 'ignore' them raping the helpless, cuffed inmate.

Cynical as I am, though, I'm still capable of being shocked that situations like the one described in the article are allowed to persist after they've been discovered and documented. The person running that prison should have been investigated and, if found guilty, stripped of his office, and sentenced for assault and torture, and should be doing time, himself.

 

[R. Richard]

Cynical as I am, though, I'm still capable of being shocked that situations like the one described in the article are allowed to persist after they've been discovered and documented. The person running that prison should have been investigated and, if found guilty, stripped of his office, and sentenced for assault and torture, and should be doing time, himself.

The problem is that scumbags will not willingly punish another scumbag. If a scumbag is caught torturing a prisoner or some other action that simply can't be defended, then pressure is brought to bear on the system to 'get the guy help.' Stripping another scumbag of his office/badge is very, very difficult to achieve as a judicial punishment and even more difficult to get the guy's fellow scumbags to actually enforce.

 

[Varian P]

The Stanford Prison Experiment went a long way toward proving that being a jailer can easily turn people into that.

Yes, I was going to mention that.

The Stanford Prison experiment actually had to be aborted early because those selected to be "jailers" got so sadistic, the researchers feared for the safety of the "prisoners." If I recall correctly, the subjects acting as both prisoners and guards were all college students.

Das Experiment is a German film that basically depicts the Stanford Prison Experiment, but explores what might have happened if the scientists had not chosen to abort when they did.

 

[shereads]

Yes, I was going to mention that.

The Stanford Prison experiment actually had to be aborted early because those selected to be "jailers" got so sadistic, the researchers feared for the safety of the "prisoners." If I recall correctly, the subjects acting as both prisoners and guards were all college students.

Das Experiment is a German film that basically depicts the Stanford Prison Experiment, but explores what might have happened if the scientists had not chosen to abort when they did.

The Stanford experiment has always made me wonder, are we civilized beings who can, under certain circumstances, devolve into monsters? Or are we monsters who spend most of our time suppressing monstrous urges?

 

[Varian P]

The Stanford experiment has always made me wonder, are we civilized beings who can, under certain circumstances, devolve into monsters? Or are we monsters who spend most of our time suppressing monstrous urges?

I usually tend to go with C) all of the above.