Sheriff Joe Arpaio Round 1

Please read the following article on Sheriff Joe Arpaio. A racist Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7950220.stm

The following is an opinion from one of this blogs editors...

I think it's clear where the debate lies. Do the accused really have the same rights as the unaccused? My answer is a resounding 'YES' (well, to an extent obviously). The only problem here is it isn't as simple as that. Sheriff Joe clearly shows a little bias in his judgment. He seems to have a vendetta against illegal immigrants and his methods demonstrate that. Not only is this a grey area on the moral compas, but it's also coupled with the fact that he borders on civil rights violations. The main issue I have is not even what I have already mentioned. It's the simple fact that this is not what he should be focusing on. Statistics show that crime rates have gone up in his county alone since he has been in office. It's really easy to look at statistics and draw conclusions, but one must look beyond raw numbers to deduce why this is occuring. Look at faces of the victims. Immigrants aren't the downfall of the country like some media likes to portray. Rather, they are the victims. America has much more to do with their socioeconomic status. We, as America, should have some more social responsibility than that. Despite the accomplishments Sheriff Joe Arpaio has made, his direction and lack of judgment is really not the best thing for the prison system, Arizona, or the US.

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