Jails overcrowded? No problem, just start putting the prisoners outside. In tents.
That's seriously what Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio is doing right now, in Phoenix, Arizona. And it seems most of the prisoners chosen to live in the "tents" are Hispanic and nonwhite citizens.
The sheriff has said that he doesn't see any problems with housing inmates in tents because "some members of the U.S. military live in tents."
Some members of the U.S. military also have to fight in deadly combat and get killed by enemies of the state. I suppose sending our prisoners to do this is the next step when we run out of room in the tents?
This Tent City Jail also forces its inmates to wear pink underwear and sells guided tours so that paying citizens can come gawk at the prisoners.
Tonight, there will be a rally for the closing of the tent city, led by the immigrant rights group Puente Arizona and the Unitarian Universalist Association, a national church group.
