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Ducey goes partisan in 2020 State of the State Address
As Gov. Doug Ducey welcomed in a new decade with his address to the joint session of the Legislature on January 13, it became clear that he left the Era of Good Feelings behind in 2019.
House GOP policy plan covers old ground, unfinished battles
Republican leadership in the House of Representatives released a general framework of policy and spending goals for the upcoming legislative session on January 9, laying out a broad-stroke vision for nine key issues to watch in 2020.
Criminal justice reform should set up ex-prisoners to succeed
About 95 percent of prison inmates will eventually be released from custody and will return to our communities. They could be the person standing next to you at the grocery store or your neighbor across the street. While always keeping public safety first in mind, we should all agree that more should be done to set them up to succeed after incarceration. That must be the goal of any criminal just[...]
State to reopen closed prison to house booming female population
The Department of Corrections will reopen a shuttered prison in Douglas to deal with the fact that women are being locked up at a higher rate. “We’re simply out of... […]
We shouldn’t have to sue to learn prosecutors use slurs
In training materials recently obtained by the ACLU of Arizona, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) refers to the people it prosecutes using the slur “crazy” and paints people with psychiatric disabilities as liars and obstacles to winning a conviction – not as human beings worthy of respect.
Report suggests court strike 2011 law requiring private health care for prisoners
A special expert is recommending to a federal judge that she override a state law that requires the Department of Corrections to farm out health care for inmates to private companies.
Public’s right to know about executions limited to official record
Arizonans have no legal right to know where the state obtains drugs to execute inmates, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday.
Ducey ‘not piling on’ embattled prisons boss
Gov. Doug Ducey said Monday he wants to change the culture at the Department of Corrections, a culture that resulted in the agency chief cut off from what was happening by "yes'' men.
Report: Prisons director uninformed about faulty locks
The head of the Department of Corrections remained "surprisingly uninformed'' about nonfunctioning locks at one of the state's largest prisons and the resultant security risks and assaults on guards, according to a new report issued today.
Arizona must be bolder on sentencing reform
This legislative session, Republican lawmakers are following in the footsteps of President Donald Trump and addressing the need for sentencing reform in Arizona. So far, the bills that have gained momentum in the House and Senate are well-intentioned but too weak to put a dent in our massive prison population.
Tax-free tampons up for debate in Arizona Legislature
A Coolidge Republican whose office was flooded with tampons for his refusal to hear a bill on free feminine hygiene products last year now proposes to make them tax-free.
DOC director blames private provider for health care failures
With potential sanctions for his agency’s failure to meet court-ordered prison health care standards looming, Arizona Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan laid the blame largely at the feet of private contractor Corizon Correctional Healthcare.
