U.S. District Judge Neil Wake has found that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has sufficiently corrected jail deficiencies. The Court found that oversight of the Maricopa County jails will end in the limited areas of food quality, sanitary conditions and overcrowding in holding areas.
Sheriff’s Office had corrected issues such as overcrowding and poor sanitation.
The Sheriff’s Office, in accordance with Wake’s ruling, reduced overcrowding in holding cells, provided cleaning supplies for inmates, and modified recreation areas. The sheriff’s notorious “green baloney sandwiches” were eliminated and the inmates menu was brought into compliance with federal dietary guidelines A dietician was hired and inmates are provided with an average of 2,600 calories each day.
Arpaio responded to the ruling, “As the years went by, we’ve improved our internal procedures. We’re always trying to improve our jail system. I will repeat again: We run an excellent jail system, even though I may have some get-tough policies running those jails.”
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in 1977.
“The people complained so bitterly about the federal courts getting involved in matters that ought to be left to the local level,” Hammond said. “Were it not for this federal court, the extraordinary result that came out of this case I’m just convinced would never have occurred,” Larry Hammond, an attorney with a Phoenix firm that represented inmates told the Arizona Republic.
The Sheriff’s Office must now satisfy the remaining issues involved in the Court finding; improving inmate access to medical and mental-health care.
To read the article in the Arizona Republic click here.