Maricopa County Jail Chain Gangs
29 images Created 19 Mar 2010
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is proud of his tough, no nonsense, reputation as "America's Toughest Sheriff." On his way to earning that title he's created three chain gangs. One men's, one women's and one juvenile. He says it's proof that he's "an equal opportunity incarcerator."
The chain gangs do a variety of public service tasks, like cleaning up vacant lots. But their most famous task is burying the poor of Maricopa County.
On alternating weeks, the men's and women's chain gangs go out to White Tanks Cemetery west of Phoenix and inter the homeless and indigent who die in the county in what has become Maricopa County's "potter's field."
This is a selection of photos I've made of the Sheriff's chain gangs. There are more photos in the archives.
The chain gangs do a variety of public service tasks, like cleaning up vacant lots. But their most famous task is burying the poor of Maricopa County.
On alternating weeks, the men's and women's chain gangs go out to White Tanks Cemetery west of Phoenix and inter the homeless and indigent who die in the county in what has become Maricopa County's "potter's field."
This is a selection of photos I've made of the Sheriff's chain gangs. There are more photos in the archives.
