By Caroline Isaacs, AFSC-AZ Program Director | This week, in a move that seemed to shock even themselves, the Denver City Council voted against renewing two multimillion-dollar contracts with GEO Group and CoreCivic, the two largest private prison companies in the U.S. What may surprise many is that the contracts in […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Press Contact: Joe Watson Phone: 602.383.4155 Tucson, Arizona – August 6, 2018 – The American Friends Service Committee-Arizona (AFSC-AZ), in its efforts to reduce the size and scope of the criminal punishment system, has secured public pledges from three candidates for Arizona governor to reject campaign donations from […]
Today, the Pima County (Tucson), Arizona Board of Supervisors passed a historic resolution to prohibit contracting with private, for-profit prison companies like GEO Group or Core Civic (formerly CCA) for jail operations. The American Friends Service Committee – Arizona (AFSC-AZ) welcomes this positive step forward. As states increasingly […]