By AFSC-AZ staff |
In light of the largest known outbreak of COVID-19 inside our state prisons, American Friends Service Committee-Arizona (AFSC-AZ) renews its call for immediate action to protect incarcerated people.
On Tuesday, December 8, under pressure from families across the state who have demanded truth and transparency, the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry (ADCRR) and Director David Shinn revealed that, of 1,066 people incarcerated inside the Yuma state prison complex’s La Paz Unit, 655 tested positive for COVID-19. It is the largest outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic. With additional upticks at the Douglas, Tucson, and Yuma facilities, we fear that, without immediate intervention, this trend will continue.
In the early stages of this pandemic, AFSC-AZ and our coalition partners predicted continued outbreaks if action was not taken. The La Paz outbreak is further evidence that Director Shinn and ADCRR have been negligent and begs for Gov. Doug Ducey to intervene. We again call on ADCRR, Director Shinn and Gov. Ducey to implement the following measures needed to reduce the spread and save lives:
- Ensure all people who are incarcerated are provided with sufficient masks, soap, and protective equipment;
- Halt the admissions of new people into ADCRR until the virus has been contained;
- Stop revocations of people who have technical violated terms of their community supervision;
- Implement a statewide mask mandate to further protect incarcerated people and staff;
- Release the following people to home confinement:
- 55+ population (10% of 2019FY population)
- Medically vulnerable population (immunocompromised or with health conditions that cause limited mobility (11% of 2019FY population)
- Women who are pregnant/post-partum
- People who were sentenced to 25 years to life and have already served at least 25 years
- People who have less than six months of their sentence remaining
Additionally, we urge Director Shinn to be accountable to the public by appearing before the media, either independently or alongside Gov. Ducey, to answer questions and fulfill the promise of transparency he made upon his hiring more than 14 months ago.
Categories: Blog
Thank you all for all the hard work you are doing to try and protect our loved ones!
Its awful how Governor Ducey could have done something long time ago for these inmates. But this is a governor that doesnt care for our loved ones in prison. I have called, and have written many reporters and to the governor’s office with NO
relay back.
The same here. I have called I have written and have never heard back from them. Its crazy they just think ignoring us will make it all go away. But thats not true I will not let thi go.
Hello my name is Sandi Jones and my father Toby Jones is a inmate in Arizona prison Lewis Bachmann’s. Toby Jones was a inmate at Lewis prison Stiner Unit until a week ago they moved him to Bachmann’s and placed my dad among many inmates that have covid-19. My dads cell mate can’t taste or smell and will not tell the grauds his sick because he is afraid of what will happen to him. There are many inmates like my dads cell mate whom are afraid to tell grauds they are sick and my dad can’t say anything because he will be labeled as a snitch and my dad has 10 more years to serve. Please help me what can I do to get my dad moved from this yard and inmates tested at Bachmann’s. Any information that you can provide me to help get my dad back to stiner or a safe unit please share it with me thank you for your time
Wish that there was something happening sooner than later. My loved one is in la Paz and is watching all of this happen. It is so hard on the inmates and it’s also so hard on us as families watching them struggle. I am heartbroken and terrified of waking up and hearing horrible news. There was another individual as we speak being taken to the hospital because of covid from la Paz. How do we advocate for change? My loved one has seven months left until he comes home.
Doug Ducey won’t even do anything for the Arizona voters that are out of prison right now why would he do anything for prisoners he doesn’t care. he is Trump’s little funky and now he’s butt hurt that Trump didn’t win. David Shinn is worthless and just as shady as the guy that he replaced. There was a huge thing about the locks being broken at the Buckeye Prison, it took several whistleblowers that actually work in the prison to get anyone to pay attention and when they did and they actually moved them in they sent them to places like Winslow prison and my son was one of them and he told me that the doors were broken over there too so?? The guards ended up breaking all of his property his TV and his CD player which is ridiculous and David shin and his staff did nothing to try to make it right for us. The sad thing is every single death here on out is preventable if Doug Ducey would just step up and do some mitigation. and his inaction is just going to cause a lot of death and dismay unfortunately.
My LO is in Cibola, 29 yrs on a 25 -life, 67 yrs old, and poor health. Now he has covid. They arent separating the positive from the negative cases, they don’t enforce the mask mandate, nothing!! Its such a mess. They are ALL just sitting ducks.
Thank you for putting forth AFSC as a supporter of these immediate reforms related to
Covid19. It seems they are the minimum requirements for human rights during a pandemic. Please add my name to the supporters.