Dig deeper into Arpaio's actions

Deborah B., regarding Sheriff Joe Arpaio, wearing pink underwear and picking up trash is not abusive, I agree. But let us dig a little deeper for facts.

Joe Arpaio forced many inmates to live in a "tent city". Nothing wrong with that but temperatures reached a scorching 135 degrees. He subjected inmates to substandard health care, sometimes to the point of extreme suffering, even death. Prisoners in his jails died at an alarming rate, with no explanations given. He himself compared his prisons to concentration camps. He bragged about spending more to feed dogs than human inmates; and what he did give the inmates to eat was mostly expired food.

He withheld resources for investigations of over 400 sex crimes. Many of the victims of these sex crimes were children and he turned a blind eye. When journalists reported on his atrocities, he had them arrested. He told the people of his county he was "protecting them" and then he staged a fake assassination attempt against himself, costing his taxpayers more than $1 million.

He ordered women to be shackled while giving birth to their children. His officers burned a dog alive for no reason, then laughed as the dog's owners cried. These are just some of the documented abusive acts involving former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, in addition to the charge of Latino profiling and the contempt of court charge. He was convicted of all of this

So, if it was just pink underwear and picking up trash, I agree, no big deal. But when you realize the extent of his actions, you can see why many people were/are against this man's presidential pardon.

Mary Kay Arndt

Arlington Heights,