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Clemency board at risk of lawsuit for unfulfilled obligation, seeks additional funding
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.
Drug defendants are getting a raw deal, facing harsh penalties
Not only has American society come a long way since the so-called war on drugs began during the Reagan administration, but our attitudes toward drugs have changed as well. When harsher enforcement and penalties began during the 1980s, “opioid epidemic” had not entered our lexicon and prescription drug abuse was nascent.
Quaker group seeks drug-law reform, treatment to reduce prison populations
More than one-fifth of Arizona prisoners are serving time for drug offenses, according to a new report from a justice reform group.
Jail reform must address mental health, substance dependence
Though it is too often ignored in the criminal justice reform dialogue, treating the mentally ill and drug addicted as patients instead of criminals should be a focal point for reform.
Ducey signs prison public notification law
A new law signed Friday by Gov. Doug Ducey will give people a better chance of knowing -- and protesting -- before new prison facilities are dropped in their neighborhoods.
Ex-Arizona Rep. Renzi set for release from prison Saturday
Renzi was convicted in 2013 of conspiring to use his congressional post to make companies buy his ex-business associate's land so the associate could repay a debt to Renzi.
Court revives lawsuit over restraining pregnant inmate
An appeals court has resurrected a lawsuit by former jail inmate in metro Phoenix who says her rights were violated in 2009 when officers restrained her before and after she gave birth to her son at a hospital.
Arizona set to send first batch of inmates to private prison
Arizona is sending its first group of inmates to a privately operated prison as part of an expansion project meant to alleviate prison crowding.
DOC considers whether to replace prison commissary contractor
The Arizona Department of Corrections is deciding which company will run a general store that sells prisoners a wide range of merchandise, from toilet paper to television sets.
Attorneys demand plan to comply with prison healthcare agreement
Attorneys representing the state’s prisoners are asking a federal judge to order the Arizona Department of Corrections to make a plan to comply with a 2015 agreement to provide adequate healthcare for prisoners.
Hundreds of Arizona prison inmates have used razors, drugs in attempted suicides
There were nearly 500 incidents in Arizona’s prison system when convicts attempted to either hurt or kill themselves in 2015, despite efforts to push for better mental health treatment and a legal settlement ordering the Department of Corrections to improve psychiatric services.
Supreme Court explores ways to keep the poor out of jail
Following a national trend, Arizona’s court system is going to look at the way it treats poor people who struggle to pay their fines.
