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VA: Fairfax chain gangs fill gaps for cash-strapped DOT

By Real Cost of Prisons Project (The Sentencing Project)

Fairfax chain gangs fill gaps for cash-strapped DOT By Derek Kravitz Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, April 26, 2010 The vest-wearing, lawn-mower-pushing members of Fairfax County's modern chain gang don't look like jail inmates. Well-disciplined landscapers, yes. Orderly weed-whackers, perhaps. But not convicts. There are no chains, no handcuffs, no black-and-white striped jumpsuits. Just a handful of suntanned men wearing uniforms. But take a closer look, and you'll see the tell-tale signs that these aren't your normal grass cutters -- the faded gang tattoos, the jail-issued plastic ID bracelets, the armed sheriff's deputy patrolling nearby. Still, confusion is inevitable. "We get a lot of people asking us for business cards, and we have to point to our sheriff's office logo and say, 'Sorry,' " said Sheriff's Deputy Michael Pence, as he watched a handful of inmates mow grass on a recent Friday near a county office building in McLean...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog on April 27, 2010 (boomark / email).