Arizona Luminaria

Unconstitutional hole: Crisis in the Pima County jail

John Washington, Diana M. Náñez, Irene McKisson, Becky Pallack

Arizona’s Pima County jail has become one of the deadliest in the nation, with the upsurge in deaths coming after the county received a multi-million-dollar grant to reduce jail population and improve care. Arizona Luminaria’s reporting linked numerous individual incidents into a pattern of abusive treatment, proliferation of drugs and outsourced medical care. The series sparked a community movement demanding accountability from county officials responsible for the jail, including from city council members who cited Arizona Luminaria’s  coverage in calling a special study session.