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.
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