by AFSC-AZ Staff | A recent exposé by ABC15 reveals that the cell door locks at the Lewis State Prison in Buckeye have been broken for more than five years, allowing for horrifying assaults against both incarcerated people and guards. At least one man has died as a result. […]
by James Kilgore, Guest Blogger | When I was released by the California state prison system way back in 2009, I was told that, if I wanted to parole to Illinois where my family lived, I would have to be on an electronic monitor. I thought nothing of it. […]
by Joe Watson Our friends at the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) – the Florida-based, nonprofit publishers of Prison Legal News and Criminal Legal News – announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) upheld objections last week filed by CoreCivic and the GEO Group that challenged shareholder resolutions […]
by Joe Watson Last week, the Arizona Legislature failed to advance common-sense sentencing reform proposals that would have moved our state away from the outdated policies that continue to proliferate mass incarceration and waste hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars every year. Both HB 2270, sponsored by state […]
HB2270 was introduced by Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake. It has bipartisan support. But we need constituents across Arizona to chip in and keep the momentum going. Take Action! Ask House Judiciary Chair John Allen and Public Safety Chair Kevin Payne to give this bill a hearing as soon as […]
by PENIEL IBE, AFSC Policy Fellow This week, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill known as the First Step Act (S.756) advanced out of the U.S. Senate, with broad support from across the political spectrum. It’s tremendous to see the conversation on criminal justice reform take center stage, […]
In 1998, I was a budding anti-prison activist, volunteering for the American Friends Service Committee in Arizona (AFSC-AZ). I was fortunate enough to attend the very first Critical Resistance gathering in Oakland and learn that I was actually part of a movement—a vibrant, fierce, and committed group of people who, […]