In Arizona, people with disabilities are incarcerated in prisons, jails, and juvenile correction facilities at a significant rate. Often these carceral institutions house more individuals with mental illness than our state psychiatric facilities. People with disabilities who are incarcerated retain fundamental rights, and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of their disability in these institutions.
In Arizona, people with disabilities are incarcerated in prisons, jails, and juvenile correction facilities at a significant rate. Often these carceral institutions house more individuals with mental illness than our state psychiatric facilities. People with disabilities who are incarcerated retain fundamental rights, and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of their disability in these institutions.
The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to state-operated and privately-operated facilities such as juvenile detention, jails, and prisons. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 contains similar requirements and applies to federally-operated facilities, and also other facilities if they receive federal funding.
Under these laws, incarcerated people with disabilities have the right to be from discrimination based on their disability. People with disabilities cannot be excluded from programs and activities they are qualified to participate in, such as education, work, visitation, and religious services. In addition, the facility must provide reasonable accommodations necessary to allow people with disabilities equal access, and provide communication access. There are also accessible design requirements that facilities must meet to provide physical access to people with disabilities.
Disability Rights Arizona (DRAZ) is an organizational plaintiff in the Jensen v. Thornell federal class action lawsuit against the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry (ADCRR), representing individuals with serious mental illness. In collaboration with co-counsel from the ACLU National Prison Project and Prison Law Office representing the class, the Jensen lawsuit was filed in 2012 and challenged the medical care, mental health care, and conditions in maximum custody isolation units in Arizona state prisons.
Although the parties settled the case in October 2014, ADCRR consistently failed to follow the terms of that settlement. As a result, the federal District Court rescinded (canceled) the Court’s approval of the settlement in July 2021 and the parties went to trial in November 2021.
After a 15-day trial, the Court issued a 200-page Order on June 30, 2022, finding that ADCRR violated the constitutional rights of people in prison. The Court found that the “health care system is plainly grossly inadequate. Defendants have been aware of their failures for years and Defendants have refused to take necessary actions to remedy the failures.” The Court also found that the treatment of people in the detention units was shocking, and that the ADCRR kept “hundreds of prisoners in maximum custody housing despite all prison officials admitting there is no penological justification for doing so.”
On April 7, 2023, the Court issued a 67-page Order (Injunction) requiring ADCRR to fix the constitutional violations found at trial.
The Injunction requires ADCRR to provide health care and mental health care that is “clinically appropriate.” To provide appropriate care, ADCRR will be required to do the following, among other things:
The Injunction also requires improvements to mental health care, including better coordination of care, regular face-to-face meetings with mental health staff, and improved mental health training for custody officers. It also places restrictions on prison officials placing people in isolation conditions for extended periods of time, and requires numerous changes to improve the living conditions in isolation housing units. Juveniles and individuals designated Seriously Mentally Ill (SMI) are also not to be housed in isolation units.
The Court has appointed four experts to serve as neutral monitors to assist the Court in monitoring ADCRR’s compliance with the Injunction. In addition, lawyers from Disability Rights Arizona, the ACLU National Prison Project, and the Prison Law Office will also be monitoring and assessing compliance. This will include making periodic visits to the state prisons.
To help the court-appointed monitors address ongoing concerns in ADCRR, they launched a website for the public to send information regarding healthcare in the nine state-run prisons and living conditions in maximum custody, detention, and watch units. Anyone can confidentially submit information directly to the court monitors on the website.
If you have concerns about a family member or loved one who is incarcerated in one of the state-operated prisons, and the issue relates to unsafe or unsound medical care, unsafe or unsound mental health care, or unconstitutional living conditions for residents in maximum custody, detention, or watch units, you can submit a concern to the court monitors at the Court-Appointed Monitors’ Webpage – Jensen v. Thornell et al.
We are committed in providing accurate disability-related legal information and advice to more individuals who need our services and assistance. In addition to limited legal representation, our goal is to provide efficient, streamlined services to educate people with disabilities and their family members on how to enforce their legal rights through self advocacy.
