Lillian Coppes[s], whose husband is incarcerated, told the committee about the difficulty she has faced tracking her husband’s well-being. “The anxiety and frustration that I experienced during those weeks where DOC never responded to my calls, are feelings that I would not wish on my worst enemy,” she said. READ MORE: Prison Oversight Bill Unanimously…

For Coppess, who heads up the Arizona S.T.A.R.T Project, each day is filled with uncertainty about what the future may hold for her husband. There have been more than 1,300 COVID-19 cases at the Wilmot facility since the start of the pandemic, and ten inmates there have died. “Since the beginning, he told me like at…

“How can they social distance when they are being obligated to eat together, and when they are being obligated to go to medical to take care of their pills two times a day, and to chow — to the dining hall — in groups of hundreds?” Coppess said. READ MORE: https://fronterasdesk.org/content/1586457/pima-county-urges-public-health-officials-reduce-prison-populations

Arizona has one of the largest incarcerated populations in the country. Many are also over 55 years old. But the state lags behind others in releasing inmates. Prison reform advocates have been vocal about the gap. READ MORE: https://news.azpm.org/s/75975-arizona-advocates-plead-with-state-to-release-vulnerable-inmates-amid-covid-19/

There are more than 40,000 people locked up in Arizona State Prisons. One bipartisan advocacy group is working tirelessly to convince state leaders to reduce the prison population to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. READ MORE: https://kvoa.com/news/2020/04/21/criminal-justice-reform-group-pushing-gov-ducey-to-reduce-prison-population/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_News_4_Tucson_-_KVOA

“There is nothing I can do to protect my husband from the spread of the coronavirus. He’s surrounded by hundreds of other people and cannot separate himself from them, or even keep a distance of 6 feet between himself and others. At the place where he resides, people have no access to hand sanitizer and…

Advocates for inmates have asked Arizona’s top public health official to order inspections of state prisons to help guard against the coronavirus there. READ MORE: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2020-04-07/tribal-land-known-for-waterfalls-extends-tourism-closure

In November, an ADEQ report released to KJZZ showed the state was investigating the possibility of contamination from an old, nearby gas station. READ MORE: https://kjzz.org/content/1419971/families-incarcerated-people-fear-water-douglas-arizona-prison-contaminated-again