Although the U.S. is still the world’s largest per capita jailer, the total number of people under correctional supervision in the United States has dropped below 5.6 million for the first time since 1996.... Read more»
A Supreme Court ruling that being deprived of “reasonably adequate medical care violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment,” but with multiple agencies possessing authority over correctional health care, standards of care vary starkly across the U.S.... Read more»
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday that an Arizona inmate’s lawsuit can proceed against corrections officials who confiscated his hip-hop CDs and Nation of Islam books as banned materials. ... Read more»
Justice reform advocates say they are “dissatisfied” with the Biden administration’s progress, arguing that even some of the easier pledges the president made on the campaign trail have gone unfulfilled.... Read more»
Starting this week, communities that think they were undercounted can file challenges with the U.S. Census Bureau - but the so-called Count Question Resolution process only allows cities to challenge mapping mistakes that mistakenly placed people outside of city limits.... Read more»
The prison telecommunication industry generates an estimated $1.4 billion in annual revenue, and many states and localities rake in millions each year from commissions, a fact highlighted by the pandemic and an issue activists and some prisons are working to change. ... Read more»
A federal judge in Arizona rescinded a settlement agreement in a suit alleging inadequate prison health care, finding that the state hasn't met required benchmarks.
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The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Re-entry announced Thursday that in-person visitations will resume on June 19, with restrictions intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus, but only if the inmates are vaccinated and haven’t had any disciplinary issues. ... Read more»
Under the Arizona DHS plan, the 35,000 or so people who are incarcerated in the state’s correctional system are part of Phase 1C of the state’s vaccination plan. Correctional officers, considered essential workers by the state, will be vaccinated as part of Phase 1B.... Read more»
Amid an outbreak of coronavirus infections in Arizona prisons that reportedly killed one of the wardens, activists and parents of incarcerated people are calling on Gov. Doug Ducey and state corrections officials to do more to protect inmates from COVID-19, starting with releasing inmates to relieve overcrowding in the state's prisons.... Read more»
As COVID-19 began to spread across the Southwest in March, lawyers representing incarcerated Arizonans reported “unsanitary conditions,” “inadequate medical staffing and treatment” and a “failure to take strong and sensible precautionary measures” in state prisons.... Read more»
Three Arizona correctional facilities all have high ratings for lack of access to health care and advocacy groups in the state are concerned the situation will worsen during the COVID-19 pandemic.... Read more»
Corrections expert: “I don’t think people understand the gravity of what’s going to happen if this runs in a prison, and I believe it’s inevitable. You’re going to see devastation that’s unbelievable."... Read more»
A federal appeals court upheld a contempt order and a $1.44 million fine against the Arizona Department of Corrections this week, saying the agency has been “deliberately indifferent” to health care for inmates. ... Read more»
The Ninth Circuit refused to reverse a contempt order against the Arizona Department of Corrections for failing to improve a derelict prison health care system that caused needless pain and suffering and multiple inmate deaths.... Read more»
Danielle Metz stared down three life terms of a mandatory minimum sentence. Now she's a college graduate in her own home looking a whole new future.... Read more»
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