While civil rights groups urge a federal judge to remove control of Arizona’s prison health care system from the state, officials argue they’ve made reasonable progress since the 2023 ruling that found care and conditions of confinement subpar.
Arizona Department of Corrections Director Ryan Thornell said they agree: Incarcerated people deserve quality care, and there’s a lot of work ahead to get the system up to speed.
“We're oftentimes judged by the history of the agency and the reputation versus what we're actually doing today,” said Thornell.
But Thornell said they’ve only had two years since the court outlined mandatory improvements to things like offered services and conditions of confinement.
“The benchmark and expectation that’s placed upon us varies,” he said, “and if we’re, in one conversation, we’re held to 100% perfection, every single day — with more than 35,000 inmates across the state, we're never going to meet that threshold.”
Thornell said the department has been meeting the necessary benchmarks, calling the request for a court-appointed expert to step in a slap in the face to that effort.
“Receivership is supposed to be reserved for as a last resort when systems are so far gone that they can't be brought back by government,” said Thornell. “Over the last 24 months, we have made significant strides forward and accomplished far more than has ever been accomplished in this case. And far more than anybody would have ever thought that we could accomplish. We’re still well on our way to doing even more and more. So a receiver is not necessary at all — we’re not even close to that point.”
The goal now, he said, is to continue working on improvements that show the department’s dedication to shaking the distrust the case has fostered.
