Hard Time: Life with Sheriff Joe Arpaio in America's Toughest Jail - Hardcover

Attwood, Shaun

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1616082690 ISBN 13: 9781616082697

Publisher: Skyhorse, 2011

Synopsis

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is known as the Angel of Death--Shaun Attwood served 26 months in Arpaio's jail before being sentenced to prison. Prison was easier. This is his story - as told on Locked-Up Abroad "Raving Arizona."

Shaun Attwood was a millionaire day trader in Arizona, but his hedonistic lifestyle of drugs and parties came to an abrupt end in 2002 when a SWAT team smashed his door. Shaun found himself on remand in Maricopa jail with a $750,000 cash bond and all of his assets seized. The nightmare was only just beginning as he was submerged in a jail in which rival gangs vied for control, crystal meth was freely available, and where breaking rules could result in beatings or death. Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jails have the highest death rate in the U.S. Hard Time is the harrowing yet darkly humorous account of the time Shaun spent submerged in a nightmarish world of gang violence and insect-infested cells, eating food unfit for animals. His remarkable story provides a revealing glimpse into the tragedy, brutality, comedy, and eccentricity of prison life. 24 color photographs.

About this title

From the Author:

Page 1
 
"Tempe Police Department! We have a warrant! Open the door!"
The stock quotes flickering on the computer screen lost all importance as I rushed to the peephole. It was blacked out. Boots thudded up the outdoor stairs to our Scottsdale apartment.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Wearing only boxer shorts, I ran to the bedroom. "Claudia, wake up! It's the cops!"
"Tempe Police Department! Open the door!"
Claudia scrambled from the California king. "What should we do?" she asked, anxiously fixing her pink pyjamas.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
"Open the door!"
We searched each other's faces.
"Better open it," I said, but before I could make it to the door - boom! - it leapt off its hinges.
Big men in black fatigues and ballistic armour blitzed through the doorframe, aiming guns at us. Afraid of being shot, I froze. I gaped as they proceeded to convert my living room into a scene from a war movie.
"Tempe Police Department! Get on the fucking ground now!"
"Police! Police! On your bellies now!"
"Hands above your heads!"
"Don't fucking move!"
As I dropped to the floor they fell upon me. There was a beating in my chest as if I had more than one heart. Crushed by hands, elbows, knees, and boots, I could barely breathe. Cold steel snapped around my wrists. I was hoisted like a puppet onto my feet. As they yanked Claudia up by the cuffs, she pinched her eyes shut; when she opened them, tears spilled out.
"I'm Detective Reid," said a tall burly man with thick dark hair and an intimidating presence. "English Shaun, you're a big name from the rave scene...

Hard Time is much more than an exposal of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail system - it's a cautionary tale for young people worldwide about the consequences of getting involved in drugs and crime.

Hard Time is the middle volume of the English Shaun trilogy. The prequel, Party Time, was published in April 2013. The sequel, Prison Time, is expected in 2014.

Shaun Attwood has also published two ebooks: Jon's Jail Journal and T-Bone.

About the Author:

Shaun Attwood studied business at Liverpool University, England and went on to become a millionaire day trader in Arizona--but he also led a double life. A fan of the English rave scene, Attwood headed an organization that threw raves and distributed Ecstasy. While incarcerated, he submerged himself in literature--reading 268 books in 2006 alone, including many classics. He regularly speaks to audiences of young people about the perils of drugs and the horrors of prison life. His websites are shaunattwood.com and Jon's Jail Journal.

About this edition

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1616082690
• ISBN 13: 9781616082697
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320