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Arizona prisons noncompliant with court orders in prisoner condition class action, judge says
The Arizona Department of Corrections said Thursday that it can’t afford to comply with the staffing requirements generated by court-appointed monitors in a decade-old federal class action.
PHOENIX (CN) — A federal judge said Thursday she’s prepared to issue a ruling finding the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry in violation of her permanent injunction in a decade-old federal class action over the state’s prison conditions.
U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver revealed her disappointment in the department’s lack of compliance with the order — which required the department to increase staffing to provide better physical and mental health care to the more than 40,000 prisoners in Arizona’s 14 prisons — in a status conference Thursday afternoon.
“As far as the provisions of the injunction, I think 75% of them have been violated already,” the Bill Clinton appointee said from her bench in a federal courthouse in Phoenix.
The April 2023 permanent injunction, based on a draft order from that January, came nearly a year after Silver found that the prison system “failed to provide, and continues to refuse to provide, a constitutionally adequate medical care and mental health care system for all prisoners.”
The injunction identified staffing shortages in the department’s medical contractor, NaphCare, and required the vacant positions to be filled by July 7, 2023.
Nearly a year after the deadline, the department is closer to its goal, but still sees serious shortages.
To spur the department into compliance, court-appointed monitors including a psychologist and a health care policy consultant issued a staffing study and plan to implement in the Arizona prisons. Silver considered approving the staffing plan Thursday, but wanted to hear objections from the parties.
Because department heads worried that implementing the entire staffing plan would prove too financially burdensome, the monitors developed a pilot program that would first be conducted at two of the 14 prisons for six months. After that, the parties could analyze what issues need the most attention and finalize the staffing plan for the entire prison system.
Dr. Marc Stern, an internist specialized in correctional medicine and one of the court-appointed monitors, said in court that staffing at the two pilot locations can’t be increased by siphoning staff away from other locations, but instead must come from an overall increase in NaphCare employees.
While the department lamented high costs in its written response to the staffing plan in April, it wasn’t until Thursday that attorneys made its financial situation clear.
“We don’t have the money to do this,” defense attorney Daniel Struck told Silver. “It would require a new contract with NaphCare. It would require asking for approval from the [Joint Legislative Budget Council]. We can’t do that in this amount of time.”
Struck said the department has been operating at a deficit in its attempts to follow other provisions of the permanent injunction. Though it’s been withholding money from NaphCare as sanctions for not meeting staffing and salary requirements, it’s still struggling to make ends meet, Struck said.
He asked that he be given the chance to brief the court on potential costs and contract amendments with NaphCare before Silver issues a ruling.
Corene Kendrick, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union representing the plaintiff class, showed no sympathy for the department’s apparent dire straits.
“This is just dragging things out,” she told Silver. “Our clients are continuing to suffer under a system that you found unconstitutional almost two years ago.”
Kendrick asked why the defendants didn’t bring their financial issues up earlier if they’ve known about the permanent injunction since last January.
“They knew this was coming,” she said.
Silver said she’s ready to approve the staffing study and plan, but may request more briefing from the parties on when, if at all, she should order the pilot program to be implemented.
“I haven’t decided what to do,” she said.
Struck said the department won’t be financially ready to begin the program until at least late 2025.
Earlier in the four-hour hearing, Stern dispelled some of the department’s concerns with the staffing study itself.
For example, the department contested the increase of licensed physicians to reduce daily workloads to just 15 patients per physician per day. The department argued that some of its physicians can see up to 30 patients per day.
“It’s just not realistic,” Stern told the court, explaining that it would require physicians to spend just 10-15 minutes per day with each patient.
The case began in 2012 when a class of prisoners sued the state, claiming inadequate health care in the prisons led to “unnecessary pain and suffering, preventable injury, amputation, disfigurement, and death.”
In addition to increasing full-time staff, Silver’s permanent injunction required improvements in several areas including better medical record documentation, patient confidentiality protections and regular and timely delivery of medications. The Department of Corrections is also required to implement programs for suicide prevention and analysis, monitoring health care trends among patients, language accessibility and rapid medical and mental health screenings upon intake.
It’s unclear which of the provisions Silver believes the department is in violation of, but she said she’ll allow the defendants to brief the issue before she issues an official order.
Link to original article: https://www.courthousenews.com/arizona-prisons-noncompliant-with-court-orders-in-prisoner-condition-class-action-judge-says/
From the Editor
The Dehumanization of Female Inmates
*(OP-ED). This opinion is inspired by the recent sucker punch of Perryville inmates by the Federal Government. The sudden removal of privacy curtains in the shower.
In a dorm setting such as Rosa, Piestawa, and Carlos, the only thing that separates the eyes of male guards and nude women are one, very thin, cloth curtain. Normally, the female population is very subdued when faced with new policy, but the yells and screams were heard this time as the main curtain was ripped away.
I spoke with a mental health counselor the day after this happened, and she said by the time the 4th lady came to her for an emergency session….about the same topic…she called for a special meeting at Complex. According to DOC’s own statistics, 86% of female inmates have been subjected to sexual or physical abuse.
Why would government spring this on the ladies without warning? As I write this, there have been recent developments about a new curtain that is transparent top and bottom, but allegedly covers the middle. Why weren’t these employed immediately after taking down the curtains?
The government never THINKS about the women, in anything, let alone incarceration facilities.
About PerryvilleWomen.com
The D.O.C. has yet another a new health care contractor, the third one since we’ve been watching. This group just took over from Centurion, which took over from Corizon on July 1, 2019. It is highly unlikely that we will see any improvement in the staffing or standard of care. See what our women endure in “Health Horror Stories.”
Under our heading “Prison Food” we spotlight for-profit food companies like Keefe/Trinity, contracted by AZ DOC. Anything an inmate eats comes from this company. This monopoly victimizes not only the prisoners, but it’s a multi-billion dollar industry aimed at enriching their profits by bilking the inmates’ families.
We added a page on “Censorship” in this prison because there’s a war on the written word. Prison officials and their lawyers can find some way magazines and books might have an obscure effect on prison order and efficiency. I personally had a book censored because it showed an 1863 map of slaves’ underground railway on the East coast. The reason? The censor form said “escape routes from AZ .”
The “Smoking” page focuses on Arizona’s shocking disregard for the Supreme Court’s decision that calls second-hand smoke a “violation of the 8th Amendment for cruel and unusual punishment.” Imagine, if you will, a non-smoking prisoner locked in an 8′ x 15′ cell with no windows, subjected to smoke from 3 adjoining cells that share the same ventilation system. That is a gas chamber from which there is no escape
I’m sure there are some out there who think inmates should be punished every day for their crimes. Are you the sum total of your worst moment? Should they pay with their lives? I saw a chart in the paper that shows women in Perryville have a mental illness rate of 82%. I’ve talked to these women for a decade now, and almost all have been subjected to severe mental and physical abuse. The majority of ladies have committed non-violent crimes. Arizona sentences a lot of them to “flat-time,” which means no time off for good behavior – period! Arizona is one of the worst in the nation for recidivism. Arizona is a prison state that makes its money off taxpayers, inmates, and their families. Hopefully, this website will convince you to support prison reform
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They left me on my period for 3 years and while waiting for surgery… I caught another case and had to get a court order for hysterectomy because doc didn’t want to pay for it… now my son in Florence is sick for 4 months and lost 40lbs and still no tests… god help all the Arizona inmates.. Charles Ryan and the medical contractor need to go
These stories are heartbreaking. I came across this site per chance, never knowing it existed. I suspect most people have no clue it’s here, or that the treatment of inmates at Perryville is so inhumane. You should try to bring this site to the attention of E.J. Montini or someone at the Arizona Republic or better yet, New Times. Good luck.
How much is the not enough “Insulin Related to the commissary you get every week?
Please keep this website going. People on the outside need to be made aware of what is going on instead of things continuing to be covered up and lied about. There are things called “civil rights” and “humanity” and “love for fellow humans” that need to be addressed. It’s not happening in there. Why should people come out of a situation like that changed when they are treated like this? This will only teach people to become angry, and then when you can’t get a meaningful job when you get out of prison because you have a record for whatever may have happened, you will be right back in there. We can do so much better as a state and as human beings. Keep these stories coming and we will keep distributing them to the world. It is the only way to make change. Let these women know that we really do care about them, all of them. I will ask all of my friends to distribute this website all over the country. How can we help? Let us know.
I happened upon this website after a story on the news about Perryville. Unfortunately I have spent some time there as an inmate. Some of these stories shock me and some I have witnessed first hand.
I was put in the Behavior unit for a 8 days because I got lice from more than likely my intake cell at Lumley. A cell that is NEVER cleaned thoroughly between inmates arrival and departure!!! NEVER in my life have I had lice before. Upon arriving at the Behavior unit I was given a lice shampoo and a little tiny comb. However I was NOT offered a shower to use this shampoo nor was I given the follow up shampoo that is supposed to kill the eggs. I had to wash my mid back length hair in the sink and used the comb provided with the lice shampoo to “comb” the lice out. Of course the prongs broke on the comb almost immediately. I wasn’t given another one. Three days after arriving in the CTU unit I was allowed to shower. I was shackled and cuffed as I was escorted to and from the shower. I came from a low risk yard and for time in CTU was treated worse than the person in the concrete cell next to me who was apparently in the behavior unit because she got into a fight with 3 people on her yard. Only after I shaved my head and begged for a nurse to check me for lice was I allowed to leave this unit and went back to the low risk yard I came from. The cells in the CTU are all concrete as are most individual cells. I was in this unit in late June. The west facing wall was so hot I couldn’t even touch it for pretty much most of the day. There is NO air conditioning and getting cold water from your sink is NOT going to happen. When I went back to the yard I came from I had to wait 2 days to get my things back to include my clothes which I had to wash immediately just in case they had lice on them. It was the most horrifying experience I have ever had. To say I was treated poorly is in understatement. If I hadn’t have begged and cried to keep my Bible with me I would have lost my mind I have absolutely no doubt. I realize there is a need to separate an inmate with something like lice but to be treated like that is absolutely inhumane!!!
My friend c . Cannon was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in Perryville I looked at her Facebook a lot over the last 3 years and I just now came across this website. I too have been to jail not prison but when I went on her page today and actually took the time to re search this place I came across this website. Hot boxes? No AC? Women sentenced to 8 years with no record? No gloves? Nor do you get any medical attention until it it’s too late? I get it Iv been to jails but THIS!? This has to be against some type of law legal or a huge legal issue here? Please hang in there take deep breathes in threw your nose out threw your mouth and keep telling your story!! They can try and tell your story for you but you just take it and tell it LOUDER girls! With love D.P
I could write a book about the current problems within the walls of Perryville but I’m busy writing a book about Estrella first! Change needs to happen.
My sister has too do a big sentence in perryville soon can you give me any advice that I could tell my sister what to avoid how the inmates are how the guards retc I would really appreciate it thank you so much
How is the book coming?
I don’t know how I came across this page, but I was an inmate at Perryville for a out 4.5. I recently went back and thanks to all you wonderful ladies out here they were doing better on the hygiene issues. I’m so happy I came across this.
I was hoping for better word of living conditions, this makes me sick and now that I have to have this heartache for my fiance on the outside, this is gonna make me feel worse.
Sherry Urban I love you. San Carlos.
I was recently released from Perryville. It amaze2me at the horrible treatment these women go through. Medical services are awful, and finding staff that is willing to really help is almost impossible… The Officers who would help inmates address concerns have either left and moved on, or have been terminated for one reason or another.
I was on San Carlos unit for over a year and a half. It took over 6 months to get told that I have a heart problem, that us why I was moved from Rosa to Carlos. I was left basically untreated. I was given Pop’s and had to go to pill call. Upon my release I looked up the medications that the ‘providers’ had prescribed dor me only to discover they were only masking my symptoms not really treating the problem. I also found out the combination of meds that were prescribed to me carried some serious interactions with the meds as well as diet.
I feel for the women that are left behind the gates of this facility, as well as any inmate in ADCRR. I pray for things to change… I pray that there will be a true investigation into this cruel environment.
Hey there j my sister is about too do a 2yr sentence at perryville I’ve been trying to find someone that has been there I want to prepare her for it do you have any advice for her how it is in their what to avoid and how to make time better
Yes, I have some suggestions – please email me
Hey there Jeremy do you have any advice for my sister she’s going to have to do 2 years what to avoid how to make time better e t c very much appreciated
Fear can be debilitating. However, your voice is the freedom that NO ONE can ever take away. I feel the power behind your affirmation. I know sometimes change seems like it will never come but I can assure you it will, continue to have have faith.
Hello roxane my name is Cody my sister has too do a long sentence in perryville can you please help me by so I can prepare my sister for Perryville do you have any advice on how the inmates are the guards what to avoid how to make time good you really appreciate it very much thank you
I was just released from Perryville prison on 4/15/2020 and I’d love to tell you all about what’s really going on in there with this mess! First, let me say there IS No social distancing and their idea of monitoring is to ask you if you have a fever, not to check. Also if you ask for soap they will come to search your house before you’re allowed to have it. You have to get it at the yard office.
As far as the five people in medical at one time, that’s a joke as you know. On San Carlos there are 1400 + girls and the lines are taking at a minimum of an hour when the officers do come on shift. Yes, they have face masks but most were around their neck. They still stand over your bunk and yell. They do not wash their hands. They take the mask off to talk to you if it happens to be on their face, which is only on if a Superior officer is there. If you are running a fever and you go to medical you are being told to put in an HNR. Never have I seen an officer wash his hands. They are not offering us sanitizer. They are coming in to clean the bay area’s once a week, Wednesday morning. This smells like water. There’s never any sprayed uncommon areas like the walls that separate our cubes! They’re still doing yard to yard movement. They’re still bringing officers from other units over to work San Carlos unit which happens to be the largest unit in Perryville. When we asked questions we are told they are taking precautions, yet we don’t see them.
The girls who work are no longer allowed to go outside Cruz which means they have lost their income and puts us all together, even more. The girls who work in garment are still working and making face masks. We are not offered masks. They are working 7 days a week
An ex girlfriend of mine was in Perryville for 3 years. The stories she told me about that place were shocking. For one thing, like any prison, most of the drugs are brought in by guards. Then they’re traded for sex to the inmates. The male guards at Perryville are always having sex with the inmates. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, as to the corruption and abuse that goes on from the male guards to these women.
Hey there Jeremy do you have any advice for my sister she’s going to have to do 2 years what to avoid how to make time better e t c very much appreciated
A woman on Carlos yard was having an episode a few days ago, my friend tells me. This woman is known to be SMI, and while she has outbursts occasionally she has never been physically violent with anyone. This day she was by herself on the yard yelling and kicking and punching into the air at no one at all. Several staff members surround her and when she continues to be agitated 5 minutes later a male guard body slams her into the ground and hand cuffs her and they escort her to watch, where the treatment of mentally unstable people are treated in a way that is right out of an 1800s sanitarium hand book on how to cure mental illness. In other words, if you were not really crazy before going in there, you will be by the time you get out.
These officers are disgusting. I read the deal about Helena trying to sleep. this officer needs the same thing happen to him. Such a joke, from what I have learned he thinks he can run over anyone and get away with because he is a officer. Something needs to be done about him.
Good morning. My name is Robert Canterbury and I am challenging Clint Hickman for his seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in 2024. I was wondering how I could go about contacting female inmates who have or are currently working on any of the Hickman Farms to learn of their experiences. Thank you.
Hi friends! Love that this page is still going, it’s definitely necessary. Does anyone have stories about mothers who have been pregnant/given birth in this prison? I am trying to research for a capstone and I would love to learn from people who have seen and/or experienced this firsthand to help guide my project. I am interested in creating change.
Hello, where can I Find info on becoming a pen pal to some woman. I had an girlfriend (ex now) who was incarcerated for almost a year at perryville back in 2018 and I visited every weekend and did the special meal days, I heard stories. Lots of them. Things that happened, how guards are, Other woman conversations, and I feel for them. So I’d love to reach out to give support as a pen pal.
Aloha!
My wife and I both served time in Perryville. We have since been released and married. We have a growing YouTube and TikTok channel as outreach. Not only is perryville a rough place to be, but transitioning without being prepared and let loose into the real world, can be a disaster without proper support. That’s what we are here for. Help us, help you, help them! #coupleofCONVICTS
My friend is in that perryville place, omg what hell she must endure everyday. Why have all the comments just slowly stopped. I guess it’s easy to forget or give up when when we have a prison system that can just be above the law for the sake of money rather than human rights. Is there not one politician with compassion for human rights that has the balls to stand for something to improve the living conditions for these inmates. Toxic don’t drink the water, wtf it’s average temp in the cells 90-100 degrees. The local dog pound has better conditions. I need some direction and advice we need improvements immediately.this makes me sick. I’m not looking for excuses, I’m a sick of there lame ass reasons. Let’s help these inmates so we receive rehabilitated people back into our daily lives and society.