Arizona Prisons
Representatives of Pima County are urging public health officials and the Arizona Department of Corrections to reduce prison populations in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Community leaders made a call to action Wednesday after several requests sent to the DOC and the Governor’s Office were ignored.
May. 27, 2020
Following a recent outbreak at the state prison in Yuma, the Arizona Department of Corrections will test more than 900 correctional officers for COVID-19. The pending tests represent the largest commitment the department has made to screening for the disease since the beginning of the pandemic.
May. 21, 2020
COVID-19 is spreading in Arizona prisons. As of May 18, more than 170 inmates have tested positive and six have died. Sixty-four correctional officers have tested positive. Last week, KJZZ discovered that food workers contracted by the state have tested positive as well.
May. 18, 2020
Trinity Services Group, a company that provides food services for jails and prisons in all 50 states, says four of its employees in Arizona and 20 employees nationwide have tested positive for COVID-19.
May. 13, 2020
At a press conference Tuesday, Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ announced the state would increase the testing of correctional officers and inmates for COVID-19.
May. 12, 2020
Most K-12 schools, colleges and universities in Arizona have gone digital in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in prisons across the state, students are still being forced to go to class in-person every day. A Q&AZ listener asked why hasn't the prison education system gone to correspondence work.
May. 12, 2020
A group of federal pretrial inmates housed at a CoreCivic facility in Florence is suing the warden and several other government officials over alleged unconstitutional conditions at the private prison.
May. 8, 2020
An employee at the Adobe Mountain School, Arizona’s secure juvenile detention facility, has tested positive for COVID-19. Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections spokesperson Kate Howard said individuals who were in close contact with the positive case were tested.
May. 6, 2020
Attorneys representing inmates in a class-action lawsuit about prison health care in Arizona are asking a federal judge to fine the state $400,000 for its continued failure to meet agreed-upon health care benchmarks.
May. 6, 2020
On May 5, The Show heard from Caroline Isaacs, the Arizona director of the American Friends Service Committee, who called the county attorney's op-ed criticizing groups advocating for the release of inmates during the coronavirus pandemic "tone deaf."
May. 5, 2020
Now that the first case of COVID-19 has been confirmed in the Perryville women's prison, current and former inmates fear the virus will quickly spread through the population at the Goodyear facility.
→ Map: Coronavirus Cases Reported In Arizona Prisons
→ Map: Coronavirus Cases Reported In Arizona Prisons
May. 4, 2020
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office says it has confirmed the first inmate in county jails to test positive for COVID-19.
May. 1, 2020
An Arizona death row inmate has died due to complications from COVID-19. Alfonso Salazar was housed at the state prison in Florence, Central Unit. He had been hospitalized since April 21.
→ Map: Coronavirus Cases Reported In Arizona Prisons
→ Map: Coronavirus Cases Reported In Arizona Prisons
Apr. 30, 2020
An internal staffing report from the Arizona Department of Corrections shows a vacancy rate of more than 54% for correctional officers at the Eyman State Prison
Apr. 29, 2020
Families and supporters of women incarcerated at the Perryville prison in Goodyear held a vigil on Sunday to show their support and ask for their loved ones to be released as COVID-19 spreads through Arizona prisons.
→ Map: Coronavirus Cases Reported In Arizona Prisons
→ Map: Coronavirus Cases Reported In Arizona Prisons
Apr. 28, 2020
A model based on data from correctional facilities has predicted 99% of the nearly 42,000 people in Arizona prisons will become infected with the coronavirus.
Apr. 23, 2020
Sister Helen Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking," talked with KJZZ about the importance of compassion and why she believes elderly, medically vulnerable and terminally ill inmates should be released from Arizona state prisons.
Apr. 21, 2020
The coronavirus is spreading in Arizona prisons. There are 28 inmates at four different facilities who have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Monday.
Apr. 20, 2020
The human rights activism organization Puente Arizona organized a "United for Freedom Caravan" at the Arizona Department of Corrections headquarters in Phoenix on Friday. A caravan of activists practiced social distancing while protesting from their cars Friday as they circled the Department of Corrections.
→ More Arizona Prison Health Care News
→ More Arizona Prison Health Care News
Apr. 17, 2020
A letter from a group of former state attorneys general, chief justices, and other legal experts urges Gov. Ducey to reduce the Arizona prison population to prepare for a potential COVID-19 outbreak.
Apr. 15, 2020
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