With the top court’s blessing, state lawmakers stacked the deck against defendants with harsh, mandatory minimum sentences for conviction of drug- related and many other crimes. These laws tie the hands of judges but give prosecutors the power to threaten to indict a defendant for additional, related crimes in order to get a guilty plea.

As the Arizona state government completes their annual budget, I write to encourage them to support programs that help men and women successfully re-enter society after having completed a prison term.

Addressing public safety is urgent for communities throughout the state that experience loss, violence, and trauma every day. These are communities that have been left behind by the current system.

Does the corrections department require more accountability to taxpayers, more transparency and more professionalism? Yes; no question. Therefore, HB2167 is a laudable idea whose goals are poorly executed in the bill. It should go back to the drawing board.

A federal judge presiding over a legal settlement on the quality of health care in Arizona's prisons has imposed $1.1 million in contempt of court fines against the state for failing to follow through on its promises to improve inmate care.

As you cast your votes this election year, let’s remember our fellow community members who can’t--not because they are unwilling to participate but because of anti-democratic processes that send the message that their voices don’t count. Commit to change, not just for them, but for our country. Because when every voice is heard, that’s when true democracy exists.

The only difference between her and the typical focused, stern female marketing executive adorned in a pantsuit most people imagine is that Ochoa wears orange scrubs and attends conference calls from inside Perryville prison complex in Goodyear.

In practice this requires that states “Fundamentally change the purpose of supervision from punishing failure to promoting success. The goal should be to help people repair the harm they have caused and become self-sufficient, law-abiding citizens, rather than simply enforcing rules set by courts and parole boards, catching violators and imposing penalties, including incarceration.”

Gov. Doug Ducey’s announcement in his State of the State Address that he would be shutting down the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence astounded criminal justice advocates and the town itself.

The Arizona Department of Corrections was sent back to the negotiating table after it failed to comply with a previous settlement requiring better health care, a judge said.