The judicial system sentences a misdemeanant to a number of days incarceration, not starvation, not deprivation of basic human needs such as sleep, a dry place to be and not sujected to broiling heat and dangerous cold.
Any rationalization reeks of a generalized emotional reaction to the broader issue of crime within society. Societal crime is a problem that will not be resolved by this evil moron of a sheriff and his barbaric tactics. He does, however, bask is the spotlight of radio and TV interviews that focus on what he likes to describe as creative punishment techniques. He disreagrds the history that his barbarisms are a long way from creative. Dictators, tyrants and criminals against humanity have used them for centuries.
Too stupid to understand, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime"?
The comparison to troops was to point out that if the troops are routinely exposed to those conditions, and maintain their morale, then it can hardly be called "cruel and unusal punishment". That's what's in the Constitutions of both the US and of Arizona, and those are my standard.
Prisoners of course do not need the amount of calories or of water that active troops do, but they need enough water to replace what they lose. If the porta potties (or whatever arrangement they have) aren't being used, then they aren't getting enough water.