In a recent guest opinion, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery peddles a grab bag of outdated and weak measures – some over 40 years old – to claim that Arizona leads in criminal justice reform. If only.

Diego Rodriguez is trying to improve his work-life balance – so he ran for the state Legislature.

Arizona’s criminal justice system is not perfect. There is always room for improvement in any system, and I and other prosecutors remain willing to engage in productive discussions and initiatives to improve criminal justice system outcomes for crime victims, the public we serve, and defendants to reduce recidivism.

While the criminal justice reform movement gains momentum across the country, Arizona remains on the outside looking in. Even as more conservative states with a tradition of harsh justice reduce prison populations through smart reforms that target the root causes of crime, Arizona persists in the failed policies of mass incarceration, wasting resources to imprison low-level offenders.

The prosecution function has come a long way in the last two decades across the country and here in Maricopa County.

Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick urged Gov. Doug Ducey to name Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery to the U.S. Senate just days after John McCain died.

What if we provided substance abuse treatment from the point of admission, and cognitive behavioral treatment? What if we just started with drug possession offenders? Re-entry programs are showing significant promise in reducing recidivism and so are diversion and deferred prosecution programs utilizing substance abuse treatment and cognitive behavioral therapies. We should be implementing similar programs over the duration of an inmate’s incarceration.

The state cannot deny the opportunity of accused rapists to seek release on bail even if the proof is evident before trial that the person committed the crime, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday.

Last week, the Capitol was abuzz with everything from talk of criminal justice reform to how to fund Arizona's public education system - and that's just the beginning.

A lingering “tough-on-crime” mentality in Arizona is hampering efforts to reconstruct the state’s criminal justice system.