Ultimately, we will never achieve meaningful sentencing reform in Arizona with both sides bashing the other and making “straw dog” arguments based on false mischaracterization of the other’s positions. Instead, we must take baby steps and then measure results as they inform public safety, in much the same way that the recently released APAAC report undertook its detailed and valuable account of recidivism in all categories of offenses. Knowing which categories of offenders recidivate least often can suggest sentencing reductions that are plausible and realistic.

Nearing the end of his first term, Ducey has granted only one pardon, to a man who stole a motorcycle in 1972. Other pardon recommendations sit dormant, leaving people awaiting a signature that could change their lives in fundamental ways.

An ex-prisoner has come forward with allegations that a former Arizona Department of Corrections detention officer, Kenneth Couture, made inappropriate sexual advances while she was incarcerated and had sex with her while she was still under the agency’s supervision after her release from prison.

Democratic lawmakers from south Phoenix are siding with their voters in a fight against two proposed programs aimed at helping prisoners re-enter society, a long held constituency of theirs that doesn’t vote.

The Arizona Department of Corrections wants 102 new positions and more than $13 million to fuel re-entry and recidivism reduction programs, but prisoner rights advocates aren’t convinced the request signals a turn in the department’s philosophy.

The Arizona Board of Executive Clemency is requesting about $34,000 to fund a part-time position needed to conduct probable cause hearings – an obligation the board has not fulfilled since funding was cut in 2010.

Responsible improvements should recognize public safety as the primary purpose of the system, while offering a real opportunity for a second chance through investing and supporting a strategic approach in reducing crime and saving tax payer money, and it should start from the beginning of an inmate’s sentence until they re-enter society.

Sen. Judy Burges, a Sun City West Republican, held two bills on February 16 designed to reduce recidivism that had the support of conservative and liberal justice reform groups.

Of the more than 1,000 bills, resolutions and memorials that have been introduced in the Arizona Legislature thus far in 2017, the majority are already being declared “dead."

Gov. Doug Ducey has picked a crime victims’ advocate tied to an organization that fights against parole for convicted murderers to be on a board that vets prisoners for release.