By AFSC-AZ Staff | Tomorrow, Arizona’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) will consider a request from the head of the state’s Department of Corrections (ADC) to re-open the Papago Unit – a converted motel in Douglas that once served as a prison – to accommodate a projected increase […]
by AFSC-AZ Staff | News broke over the weekend of a crisis at the state prison complex in Douglas, leaving incarcerated people there without water for days. Meanwhile, a continuing investigation by ABC15 revealed last week incidents of fires being set at the Lewis complex in Buckeye, with […]
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. […]
This week, the Private Corrections Institute (PCI), a non-profit citizen watchdog organization based in Tallahassee, Florida, announced the 2018 awardees for individual activism and organizational advocacy against the for-profit prison industry. PCI opposes the privatization of correctional services, including the operation of prisons, jails and other detention facilities […]
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Legislature failed to advance common-sense sentencing reform proposals that would have moved our state away from the outdated policies that continue to proliferate mass incarceration and waste hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars every year.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 […]
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, […]
Note: This blog originally appeared on The Opportunity Agenda’s ‘Insights’ page on August 21, 2018. Earlier this year, the Arizona office of the American Friends Service Committee had an interesting episode involving a Facebook exchange with the most powerful prosecutor in the state. Our office works to reduce the size […]