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Arizona Prisons
After 15 months of gathering and analyzing more than 11,000 documents and building a computer program that downloaded tens of thousands of public profiles about prisoners that the Arizona Department of Corrections refused to provide, reporters at the Arizona Republic and KJZZ News found that prison labor has become ubiquitous across the state.
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→ More Arizona prison news
Incarcerated people are working to fight wildfires raging across the state. There are eight prisoner crews assigned to various fires. The crews are made up of 17 prisoners and three staff members from the Department of Forestry and the Department of Corrections.
Jun. 28, 2021
The Arizona Department of Corrections has renewed its prison health care contract with Centurion of Arizona. The department pays a medical company to facilitate health care in the 10 state-run prisons.
Jun. 28, 2021
In a motion filed with the Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office revised the use-by date for lethal injection drugs the state has acquired to carry out executions.
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→ More Arizona Prison News
Jun. 23, 2021
The state Legislature is in a special session to consider a $100 million package that would address wildfire and flood mitigation. Part of the funding will go toward incarcerated work crews.
Jun. 16, 2021
Arizona is planning to spend millions of dollars on private prisons in the next fiscal year, despite rising costs. The Department of Corrections' budget proposal assumes new private prison beds will cost more than the average amount for public facilities.
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→ More Arizona Prison News
Jun. 10, 2021
A new analysis of data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows "unnatural" deaths in state prisons nationwide are increasing while the total state prison population has remained relatively steady. The nonpartisan advocacy group Prison Policy Initiative reviewed state prison mortality data from 2001 to 2018.
Jun. 8, 2021
After the state was forced to reevaluate how its prison health care contractor conducts mental health encounters, newly submitted reports show plummeting rates of compliance with court-ordered benchmarks.
May. 27, 2021
The Arizona Department of Corrections announced it will be resuming in-person visitations in state prisons in a limited capacity.
May. 27, 2021
A federal judge has denied compassionate release from prison for a Phoenix man convicted of making false statements to FBI agents and witness tampering during the investigation of a terror attack six years ago in suburban Dallas.
May. 27, 2021
The court granted requests from Attorney General Mark Brnovich to set briefing schedules for pursuing warrants of execution for Arizona prisoners Frank Atwood and Clarence Dixon.
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→ More Arizona Prison News
May. 25, 2021
A coalition of advocacy groups has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice seeking an investigation into allegations that the Arizona Department of Corrections is violating the religious rights of incarcerated people.
May. 24, 2021
Inspection reports from Arizona Department of Corrections monitors, Arizona Department of Health Services employees and private contractors reveal many of the kitchens and storage warehouses in Arizona prisons are infested with pests. Twelve months of inspection reports detail filthy conditions, broken equipment and frequent use of expired food.
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→ More Arizona Prison News
May. 16, 2021
Attorneys for death row prisoner Frank Atwood asked the Arizona Supreme Court to send his case to a lower court due their concerns regarding the window of usability for the state’s proposed lethal injection drugs.
May. 3, 2021
Attorneys for two Arizona death row prisoners are pushing back on a recent request from the state’s Attorney General to schedule dates for their executions.
Apr. 23, 2021
The Arizona Department of Corrections is potentially facing additional fines and oversight for failures to provide adequate health care in state prisons.
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→ More Arizona Prison News
Apr. 16, 2021
Reporting from the Guardian has revealed the cost of Arizona’s renewed pursuit of the death penalty.
Apr. 9, 2021
Prosecutors have told the Arizona Supreme Court that they intend on soon seeking execution warrants for two death-row inmates in what would be the state’s first executions in almost seven years.
Apr. 7, 2021
Recent legislative sessions have begun with hopes for passing bipartisan bills related to criminal justice reform. Some progress has been made, but the bills signed by Gov. Ducey are considered to be rather modest. The Show spoke with Kurt Altman, the state director in Arizona and New Mexico for the group Right on Crime.
Mar. 31, 2021
The Arizona Department of Corrections says it will appeal the latest contempt fine for failing to provide constitutional health care in state prisons.
Mar. 26, 2021
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey recently signed legislation that allows 700 more inmates over the next two years to help reduce the risk of wildfires by thinning out an area.
Tiffany Davila, a spokesperson for the Department of Forestry and Fire Management, says the move should help reduce the risk of Arizona wildfires.
Mar. 24, 2021
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