Thread: 66 let out of Pima jail for work shifts fled

66 let out of Pima jail for work shifts fled
By Kim Smith
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.28.2008
advertisementOver the last seven years, 66 Pima County jail inmates, given the temporary freedom to check out and go to work each day, have instead walked away and have not been heard from since.
That number, barely more than 1 percent of the total granted temporary release, is not enough to diminish support from judges, prosecutors and jail officials for a program that lets inmates keep their jobs so they can support their families and pay any restitution or fines and fees they may owe.
"Many times, if someone goes to jail for two, four, six months, they are going to lose their jobs and they are going to come out of jail worse off than when they went in, and they are going to be further away from rehabilitation," said Judge Michael Cruikshank of Pima County Superior Court.
The 66 missing inmates actually represent a decrease from five years ago. In 2003, there were 89 non-returners missing from that year and previous years, and that prompted a review of the release criteria and stepped-up efforts to recapture the missing.
The 66 is not the total who have walked away while on release — just the number who haven't been caught yet.
Since Jan. 1 alone, 26 inmates have absconded, while 25 of the missing from this year or previous years have been recaptured or have turned themselves in.
Edward Lopez, who fled in January 2001 while serving time for not paying child support, has been gone the longest. He is one of 26 absconders who were in for not paying support. Another 25 are felons, convicted of aggravated assault, burglary, forgery, drug violations and other serious charges. The others were convicted of misdemeanors.
People sentenced to serve a year or less in the county jail for misdemeanors, for lower-level felonies or for not paying support are eligible to spend part of their day at work or looking for work. They are allowed to check out of jail long enough to go to work and must return by a deadline at the end of their shift.
Jail staffers make random visits to job sites and call prospective employers, Pima County sheriff's Lt. James Navarro said. They also do strip searches and conduct random urinalysis tests.
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hahahahahahaha ... thats what you get for hiring an idiot for a sheriff or a judge that permits this.

So much for justice ... why is it that in many cases criminals are given more dignity than the victim

Throw the Judge in jail to finish all of the sentences for being such a dumb a$$