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HOMES NOT PRISONS!!!

ARIZONA PRISON NEWS:

HOMES NOT PRISONS!!!

STOP the new LEWIS SUPERMAX!!!

STOP the new LEWIS SUPERMAX!!!
$50 million is about to go into guaranteeing that our grandchildren have space in prison, instead of seats in a classroom...
FIRE CHUCK RYAN!!!

PARSONS v RYAN is a certified CLASS ACTION!

As many of you know, under the current administration of Governor Jan Brewer the suicide and homicide rates among state prisoners doubled almost immediately, and has persisted over the course of the past four years, on the watch of Arizona Department of Corrections' Director Charles Ryan. On March 6, 2013, "Parsons v Ryan" , the civil rights lawsuit filed last year by the ACLU and Prison Law Office, among others, against Ryan and AZ DOC Health Services Director Richard Pratt on behalf of 14 state prisoners was certified as a CLASS ACTION!!!! That means every prisoner in the state is now a litigant.

Thank you not only to all the legal staff who brought it this far, but also to Wendy Halloran, KPNX, and the families who have survived the horrors of prison violence in this state with a resolve to make sure that the gross indifference to human life at the AZ DOC kills no more.
ABOLISH THE PRISONS!
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AZ Prison Watch BLOG POSTS:


May 22, 2013:

On Loving to Hate Jodi Arias...


This is to all you visitors “enjoying” reading about Jodi Arias' future in my blogs, which I write largely for those who have lost loved ones in az prisons or are fighting to keep them alive through their sentences:

It is clear that your desire for vengeance is far greater than any yearning for true justice to prevail in the world, for you are celebrating the suffering of others. Please remember how happy you were that Jodi Arias would be miserable next time a young women who was sexually abused by a guard hangs herself in that prison, and know you had something to do with creating the culture of dehumanization and vindictiveness that makes that so likely to happen these days.

Perryville prison has killed many women through abuse and neglect, sometimes quite hideously – Google Marcia Powell, for one. No one deserves that kind of death. Most women there are mentally ill and survivors of trauma and shouldn’t even be in prison but for Arizona’s grossly inadequate mental health system, the right wing's contempt of the poor and people of color, and this overall fascist police state we live under.

In any case, by saying that it’s okay for the killers among them to be condemned to less-than-constitutional conditions of confinement, you lower the chances of survival of other women warehoused at Perryville as well. So, to those of you who truly care about “justice” – please just think on that before you pat the AZ DOC on the back for hurting and killing their prisoners as they do.

Friday, September 21, 2012

ASPC-Tucson/Santa Rita: September Prison Riot.

UPDATE: OCTOBER 3, 2012: this account of prisoner unrest explains a lot more than the whole race riot thing alone did (click link below). The DOC has a  problem with racial violence for sure, but it's never just about race alone...



"He is concerned because many of the inmates are complaining they are not getting enough food and the doctor is concerned about the weight loss he has actually observed.  His says he has heard comments from many people that the real reason for the recent riots/disturbances at Tucson and Rynning is because of an underlying tension or stress among the inmate population due to (1) not enough food; (2) being denied medical care.  The DOC explained the reason for the riots to the media as "racial disturbances."


------original post (9/21/2012)-----

Several prisoners remain hospitalized from this; at least one is in ICU. Sounds like the DOC just let people have at it for half an hour, till these guys got too tired to fight. If anyone knows what really happened - particularly families of prisoners who were injured - please contact me, Peggy Plews at 480-580-6807 or at arizonaprisonwatch@gmail.com.  I never believe the state's version of events.


Families trying to get information on their loved ones at Tucson/Santa Rita should probably call the AZ DOC Constituent Services' office at  602-364-3945 or in-state toll-free 1-866-333-2039


-------------Here's the DOC's UPDATE for Friday 9/21-----------

 

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release


For more information contact:
Bill Lamoreaux
blamorea@azcorrections.gov
Jennifer Bowser


MEDIA ADVISORY
September 21, 2012
Disturbance Update


Tucson, Az – As a result of the disturbance yesterday in the Santa Rita Unit at ASPC-Tucson, two officers were taken to the hospital where they were treated and released. Eleven inmates were also transported out to the hospital for treatment to injuries sustained in the disturbance. Six of the inmates are still at the hospital in stable condition at this time. The other five inmates have been treated and returned back to the complex.

The Santa Rita Unit remains locked down, while this incident is investigated. The Santa Rita Unit will not have visitation this weekend. The other units of the complex are slowly returning to normal activities.
The fight started at the Santa Rita Unit around 5:30 p.m. yesterday, and involved approximately 200 inmates. Tactical Support Unit teams and on duty personnel were able to secure the yard with minimal force, including the use of pepper spray. Control of the unit was regained at approximately 6:00 p.m. No other units were involved.

ASPC-Tucson has 5,150 beds in custody levels of minimum, medium and close custody. Yesterday’s inmate count for the complex was 5,132. The Santa Rita Unit has a total of 727 inmates housed in 768 beds across four yards within the unit.





-----the original release from the AZ Department of Corrections-------






September 20, 2012

Disturbance locks down Tucson complex


Tucson, Az – A fight started at the Santa Rita Unit of the Arizona State Prison Complex Tucson earlier this evening, around 5:30 p.m., involving approximately 200 Hispanic and African-American inmates.  Tactical Support Unit teams and on duty personnel were able to secure the yard with no force required.  Control of the unit was regained at approximately 6 p.m.  No other units were involved.

All staff have been accounted for with one officer sustaining an injury to his rib cage.  Some inmates have sustained injuries.  The details of these injuries are not known at this time.   

All of the Tucson complex is on lockdown status at this time.  The Santa Rita Unit will remain locked down for several days, while this incident is investigated.

ASPC-Tucson has 5,150 beds in custody levels of minimum, medium and close custody.  Today’s inmate count for the complex is 5,132.  The Santa Rita Unit has a total of 727 inmates housed in 768 beds across four yards within the unit.


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