Item

‘They’re scared’: A look inside the COVID-19 crisis in Arizona prisons

Title (Dublin Core)

‘They’re scared’: A look inside the COVID-19 crisis in Arizona prisons

Description (Dublin Core)

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.

The combination left prisoners “highly vulnerable to outbreaks,” the attorneys wrote in a letter to the state before asking a federal judge to intervene. The judge did by issuing an order for officials to release more information, but prison advocates say it hasn’t been enough.

Nearly four months later, complaints of insufficient safety measures and subpar medical care continue to plague Arizona prisons. At least 569 prisoners at 13 of the state’s 16 prison complexes had tested positive for COVID-19 as of July 15, according to the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, and at least 371 staffers have reported positive results.

Justice reform advocates and others with ties to the correctional system worry the state is running out of time to prevent an even more dangerous surge in cases. COVID-19 can spread swiftly in crowded indoor spaces and among individuals with chronic health problems.
By Katelyn Keenehan/Luce Foundation: Southwest Stories Fellowship

Date (Dublin Core)

July 17, 2020

Creator (Dublin Core)

Katelyn Keenehan

Contributor (Dublin Core)

Erin Craft

Event Identifier (Dublin Core)

Cronkite-LuceFellowship

Partner (Dublin Core)

Arizona State University

Type (Dublin Core)

link

Link (Bibliographic Ontology)

Publisher (Dublin Core)

Cronkite News

Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)

English Government State
English Public Health & Hospitals
English Social Issues

Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)

incarceration
Yuma
Kingman
Arizona
Arizona Department of Corrections
mask
fear
testing
inmates

Contributor's Tags (a true folksonomy) (Friend of a Friend)

lucegrant

Collection (Dublin Core)

Luce Grant

Linked Data (Dublin Core)

Exhibit (Dublin Core)

Southwest Stories>Incarceration Stories
Southwest Stories>Katelyn Keenehan

Date Submitted (Dublin Core)

10/01/2020

Date Modified (Dublin Core)

10/01/2020
10/21/2020
07/15/2021
03/22/2022
06/11/2022
11/12/2023

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New Tags

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