PHOENIX — Men convicted of drunken driving will don bright-pink shirts and perform burials of people who died of alcohol abuse as part of a new chain gang in Phoenix.
Fifteen Maricopa County inmates cleaned up a busy east Phoenix street Tuesday while wearing the shirts, which say "Sheriff D.U.I. Chain Gang" on the back and "Clean (ing) and Sober" on the front.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, best known for issuing pink underwear to jail inmates and housing them in old military tents, said he wants the chain gang to act as a deterrent to potential drunken drivers.
"Maybe this will warn people — knock it off, don't drink and drive," Arpaio said. "You'll end up in pink underwear on the chain gang."
Inmate Michael McDaniel, who is serving a four-month sentence for aggravated DUI and driving on a suspended license, said he volunteered for the chain gang to get out of the jail tents.
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"It's good to get out of the tents and be in the public," said the 30-year-old Glendale resident. "Hopefully it keeps someone from drinking and driving."
McDaniel said he found his attire "a little embarrassing."
"I don't like the color pink, but I can live with it," he said.
Arizona had the sixth-highest number of alcohol-related fatalities in the nation last year at 585, up 15 percent from the previous year, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration records.
In June, the state Legislature passed one of the toughest DUI laws in the country. The law, which went into effect in September, includes mandatory ignition-interlock devices for first-time offenders, increased fines and a minimum of 45 days in jail for "superextreme" DUI convictions.
The DUI chain gang will next work on Thursday, when they'll perform burials at an indigent cemetery that is the final resting place for many homeless alcoholics.
Because of prisoner abuse, most chain gangs were disbanded across the United States by the 1950s. Thirteen years ago, Arpaio resurrected the idea, and in 1996, started chain gangs for female inmates.
Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Paul Chagolla said the DUI chain gang is the first ever that's dedicated to one type of crime.
Arpaio said there aren't yet enough women convicted of DUI to start a chain gang but said he's already planning to expand the crime-specific chain gangs to other areas, such as identity theft and car theft. "Hey, it's unlimited what we can put on a shirt," he said.
