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Senate panel approves DOC nominee amidst death penalty debate
A Senate panel voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend the approval of Ryan Thornell as director of the Department of Corrections Rehabilitation & Reentry and discussed the state’s actions related to the death penalty.
Data suggest changes for sex offense policies
It’s time for a new paradigm in sex offender policies, one that considers real studies by real scientists.
2024 spending spread from schools to a rodeo and more
The budget crafted by Gov. Katie Hobbs and state lawmakers includes a tax rebate, big-ticket spending packages and – in a break from tradition – funding for scores of small, local projects.
We spend $1B on prisons – why aren’t we safer?
It’s time for Arizona to get smart on crime and join other conservative states by adopting the reforms in SB1064.
Prisoners prepare retired greyhound racers for family life
More than a dozen prisoners at Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy spend their days working with former racing greyhounds to understand these commands.
First-time offenders shouldn’t be treated as career criminals
Arizona’s justice system is at a breaking point. In the last 20 years, our prison population has grown seven times faster than our general population, putting us in the unenviable position of having the fifth highest imprisonment rate in the country. Our prisons now cost taxpayers $1 billion a year.
Arizona prisons ban book on black men in the justice system
The American Civil Liberties Union called on the Arizona Department of Corrections this week to rescind the ban on "Chokehold: Policing Black Men." The book by Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor, examines law enforcement and mass incarceration through its treatment of African American men.
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.
Arizona woman alleges sexual misconduct by former detention officer
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.
Advocates for criminal justice changes applaud Ducey’s proposals
Gov. Doug Ducey wants to expand employment centers for soon-to-be-released prisoners and give them identification cards before they leave state custody.
Ducey to call special session on opioids, promises ‘full commitment’ to K-12
The governor also said the state will restore cuts made during the Great Recession to formula funding for K-12 schools, but details on how much money and where it will come from won’t be known until the governor releases his budget on Friday.
Advocates decry another immigrant death at Arizona facility
The weekend death of a Guatemalan woman who became ill at a detention center in Arizona with the most in-custody immigrant deaths in the U.S. is another example of inadequate care and poor practices at the privately run site, advocates for immigrants said this week.
