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AZ execution scheduled for 10 am remains on hold
Arizona inmate Jeffrey Landrigan was scheduled to die at 10 a.m. Arizona time Tuesday.
Arizona to revamp request for private prison bids
Three inmates' escape from a privately operated state prison near Kingman has prompted Arizona to start over on getting bids from private prison companies for 5,000 additional beds.
Series of security failures allowed inmates’ escape
A broken alarm system and two security officers who missed a hole in the fence on their rounds were among a series of failures that led to the escape of three convicted murderers from a private prison in Kingman July 30.
Warden, security chief resign after prison escape
A warden and a security official have resigned their posts at an Arizona state prison where three inmates escaped last month, setting off a nationwide search.
Prison escapees linked to NM killings
Two men who escaped from a private Arizona prison and a woman thought to have helped them have been linked to the investigation of a couple's killing in New Mexico, authorities said Saturday.
Goddard slams Brewer for cuts after prison break
In the wake of three convicted murderers' escape from a private prison in northern Arizona, Attorney General Terry Goddard slammed Gov. Jan Brewer for cutting the Department of Corrections' budget.
GOP budget plan includes more than $1B in cuts
Details of the Republican budget plan given to majority party lawmakers this week show they and Gov. Jan Brewer aim to close a nearly $2.7 billion budget gap with more than $1.1 billion in cuts and wholesale elimination of a number of state programs.
Sale of state prisons running into wall of opposition
When lawmakers chose April Fool’s Day as the deadline to submit a plan to privatize the state’s prison system, they unwittingly telegraphed just how dubious the plan was. First, the whole idea of putting state prisons under private control was a difficult sell to the public. Then there was a question about how many of the state’s 10 prisons to auction off.
Arizona’s tough-on-crime stance costs big bucks
Crime in Arizona has dramatically declined this decade, but the number of Arizonans in prison continues to climb and has grown by nearly 50 percent since 2002, thanks in part to the creation of new crimes and tougher sentencing guidelines. Supporters of the tough-on-crime approach say the figures show that the laws are doing what is intended: making Arizona safer by keeping dangerous criminals [...]
Wishful thinking interrupted by budget reality
JLBC has singled out three budget provisions that wouldn't live up to their billing: a plan to save $50 million due to reduced fraud in the health care system; deals to privatize nine of the 10 state prisons; and a plan to raise $735 million by selling dozens of state buildings, then leasing them back. But there's more.
Some agencies avoid submitting reduction reports
When drafting reports to show the impact of 15 percent cuts to their budgets, some state agencies described how their services would be gutted. Some simply explained why such cuts aren't feasible. And others, such as the Governor's Office, which ordered the reports, don't seem to know where to even make the cuts.
Corrections would release 13,000 prisoners if 15 percent cuts take effect
State prisons would release more than 13,000 convicts, shut down more than 15 prison units and eliminate more than 1,500 jobs if the Department of Corrections were forced to absorb a 15-percent cut to help close the state budget deficit.
