It is time for the U.S. Supreme Court to get involved as they did with the California prisons. Arizona has NO business building any new prisons until it fixes what they have. Arizona has NO business washing their hands of their responsibility of those in their custody by encouraging private prison corporations to take over.

Once again, the Arizona legislators have failed the people, society and Arizona’s future. This is America, NOT Iran, Syria or China — or are Arizona’s legislators taking their lead from the Taliban?

We thank the ongoing diligent work of Donna Leone Hamm, Middle Ground Prison Reform (decades of knowledge and facts), former Deputy Warden Carl ToersBijns, along with the Caroline Isaacs, AFSC and many others including former Corrections officers who have had the courage to speak out. Also we thank the many who have created informative websites and held many peaceful protest at the Arizona Department of Corrections to bring attention to this crisis that has been swept under the rug.

All have been informed and action is demanded to replace executive management who is putting ALL at risk in Arizona’s decrepit prisons, breeding ill health with poor quality food that increases health care costs to the tax payers, unnecessary deaths and litigation.

ADC plays games with isolation units for petty violations. The murder of Marcia Powell, a non-violent offender, at Perryville Women’s prison, shows how the Governor, ADC Director and Legislators value women in particular. Many are mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters, nieces, cousins, and friends —Arizona’s citizens and taxpayers. This arbitrary use of CDU, cages and SMU units for cruel and inhumane punishment must be stopped!

Those who put people and taxpayers at risk with the political games being played in Arizona, to get Federal $$’s to prop up a failing state is unconscionable. Other conservative states are making serious reforms. If Arizona legislators have a conscience and care about their people then they should follow this successful alternative reforms that have saved lives and millions of taxpayers $$’s.

We demand an outside independent investigation and expect the top leaders to be fired as they would anywhere else. Marcia Powell’s murder at Perryville demanded that at the very least.

Arizona Criminal Justice Reform Coalition
Concerned Constituents, Citizens and Taxpayers

It is time for the U.S. Supreme Court to get involved as they did with the California prisons. Arizona has NO business building any new prisons until it fixes what they have. Arizona has NO business washing their hands of their responsibility of those in their custody by encouraging private prison corporations to take over.

Once again, the Arizona legislators have failed the people, society and Arizona’s future. This is America, NOT Iran, Syria or China — or are Arizona’s legislators taking their lead from the Taliban.

We thank the ongoing diligent work of Donna Leone Hamm, Middle Ground Prison Reform (decades of knowledge and facts), former Deputy Warden Carl ToersBijns, along with the Caroline Isaacs, AFSC and many others including former Corrections officers who have had the courage to speak out. Also we thank the many who have created informative websites and held many peaceful protest at the Arizona Department of Corrections to bring attention to this crisis that has been swept under the rug.

All have been informed and action is demanded to replace executive management who is putting ALL at risk in Arizona’s decrepit prisons, breeding ill health with poor quality food that increases health care costs to the tax payers, unnecessary deaths and litigation.

ADC plays games with isolation units for petty violations. The murder of Marcia Powell, a non-violent offender, at Perryville Women’s prison, shows how the Governor, ADC Director and Legislators value women in particular. Many are mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters, nieces, cousins, and friends of Arizona’s citizens and taxpayers. This arbitrary use of CDU and SMU units for cruel and inhumane punishment must be stopped. We demand outside independent investigation and the top leaders to be fired. Marcia Powell’s murder demanded that at the very least. Those who put people and taxpayers at risk for the political games being played in Arizona, to get Federal $$’s to prop up a failing state is unconscionable.

Arizona Criminal Justice Reform Coalition
Concerned Constituents, Citizens and Taxpayers

After Marcia Powell was murdered by prison staff in May 2009 when she was deliberately left for hours in an outdoor cage without shade, water or a place to sit, smeared with her own feces because prison guards wouldn’t allow her to use a bathroom, and she ultimately collapsed and died (core body temperature 108 degrees . .), not ONE single Arizona legislator decried what happened to Ms. Powell either in the media or during any subsequent legislative hearing or floor session. Not ONE legislator called for hearings to be held on the Department of Corrections practice of ignoring their own written policies and procedures, which were surely ignored on the day Marcia Powell died. Not ONE legislator introduced legislation that would have prohibited the Department from using outdoor cages for Arizona prisoners.

The problems outlined in the ACLU lawsuit and in Amnesty’s Report, as well as the almost daily medical, protective custody, mental health and other issues that Middle Ground Prison Reform deals with hundreds of times/year, are not ones that should be handled internally by the DOC. The issues must be brought to light in open public hearings at the legislature and swift action must be taken to pass emergency legislation that will bring criminal sanctions against prison staff who engage in behaviors that are a violation of basic human rights (and common sense). The Department must be required to report in detail all instances of suicides, assaults and deaths that occur to Arizona sentenced prisoners (whether housed in public or private facilities) to a special bi-partisan joint legislative committee, and those records must also be available in a timely manner to the public.

Given the attitude of legislative leaders in both parties, I don’t hold out great hope for such hearings or actions. Instead, the Courts will be forced to intervene in many operational aspects of the Department. It’s a shame our government leaders are so willing to bury their heads in the sand, all because prisoners are not a popular or sympathetic cause. Hopefully, the Judiciary is not so willing to do so . . .