State fined $1.1M over prison health care
A federal judge presiding over a legal settlement on the quality of health care in Arizona’s prisons has imposed $1.1 million in contempt of court fines against the state for failing to follow through on its promises to improve inmate care, marking the second time the state has faced penalties for remaining noncompliant with many elements of the six-year-old deal.
The fine was imposed February 24 by U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver after corrections officials had been dogged by complaints they were dragging their feet in making all the changes to which they had agreed.
Corrections officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the fine.
Over the past several years, the judges who have handled the case have expressed frustration over the state’s noncompliance, leading to a $1.4 million contempt fine in 2018 against the state and a civil contempt finding against then-Corrections Director Charles Ryan.
Read more: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2021/02/26/state-fined-1-1m-over-prison-health-care/