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

Shaun Attwood

Feb 2014 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Shaun Attwood was a millionaire day trader in Phoenix, Arizona, but his hedonistic lifestyle of drugs and parties came to an abrupt end in 2002 when a SWAT team broke down his door. Attwood 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 United States. Hard Time is the harrowing yet darkly humorous account of the time Attwood 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.

Ratings and reviews

Brings to light unimaginable & inhumane sufferings of inmates in the Arizona jail. Kudos to Shaun for his bravery in sharing these journals and also for accepting his share of responsibility and turning his life around. Excellent! A must read!

About the author

Shaun Atwood studied business in Phoenix, Arizona, and went on to become a millionaire day trader—but he also led a double life. A fan of the Manchester rave scene, Attwood headed an organization that threw raves and distributed club drugs. 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 website is shaunattwood.com.
Anthony “Tony” Papa is an activist and the author of 15 to Life. Papa was given a fifteen-year sentence to Sing Sing, New York State’s maximum-security prison, after being convicted of his first drug offense. In prison, he discovered painting, and when the Whitney Museum exhibited one of his paintings, Governor Pataki got wind of his case. After twelve hard years of time, Anthony Papa was granted clemency. He now works for the Drug Policy Alliance as a communications specialist.
Anne Mini completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard, earned a master’s at the University of Chicago, and received a doctorate from the University of Washington. After four years teaching Plato and Confucius to college students, she left academia in order to pursue writing and editing full-time.