Judge Won’t Hear Inmate’s Request That Shackling End : Salsa Will Still Be Scarce in Jail Mess
The judge apparently didn’t think it was such a hot issue after all.
Saying it was not the type of rule that “can be classified as unduly unreasonable,” Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno has refused to overturn a policy in the Orange County Jail that prevents inmates from getting hot salsa and chili peppers with their meals.
Inmate Thomas F. Maniscalco had filed a complaint with the court, arguing that Latino inmates were entitled to have the hot condiments because they are an integral part of Latino meals.
The demand for the salsa and hot peppers in the jail is so great, Maniscalco said in a phone interview Wednesday, that trusties get salsa from the deputies’ mess and sell it to other inmates. When an inmate petition asking for salsa and peppers was made public earlier this year, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said the condiments were not generally allowed because inmates could use them as weapons, shoving them into the eyes of deputies or other inmates.
Maniscalco said he would appeal Briseno’s ruling, which was dated Sept. 16.
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