|
|
| Suit attacks quality of health care in AZ prisons |
| By wisconsinrapidstribune.com - By Jacques Billeaud, Associated Press |
| Published: 03/07/2012 |
|
PHOENIX (WTW) — A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleged that Arizona prisons don't meet the basic requirements for providing adequate health and mental health to inmates and that prisoners face dangerous delays and outright denials in receiving treatment. Corrections officials are accused in the lawsuit of having a deliberate indifference toward the suffering of prisoners and failing to correct problems after they were brought to their attention. The lawsuit alleges there aren't enough health care workers in prisons to treat more than 33,000 inmates and that critically ill inmates were told to be patient and pray to be cured after they begged for treatment. "It has gotten worse in the past four years as people are looking to cut corners and save a buck," said Dan Pochoda, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, one groups representing the 14 prisoners who filed the lawsuit. The prisoners who filed the case aren't seeking money damages and instead asked for a court order declaring that Arizona's prisons violated prisoners' Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment. They also want an order requiring a plan to better staff the prisons with health care workers and other steps. The filing Tuesday marks the latest filing in a 2010 case filed by inmate Robert Gamez. Two earlier versions of Gamez's lawsuit were dismissed, but he was allowed to refile the case. The version filed Tuesday launches a broader attack on health care in Arizona's prisons, includes 13 other inmates as plaintiffs and seeks class-action status for thousands of other inmates. The lawsuit said corrections officials were aware of the system-wide deficiencies, but ignored the warnings. It cites a December 2009 email to Arizona Department of Corrections director Charles Ryan from a prison physician who complained that the corrections officials were breaking the law by not providing adequate health care. Read More. |
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
The directory includes the biographies of judges presidentially appointed to serve during good behavior since 1789 on the U.S. district courts, U.S. courts of appeals, Supreme Court of the United States, and U.S. Court of International Trade, as well as the former U.S. circuit courts, Court of Claims, U.S. Customs Court, and U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. Also included are judges who received presidential recess appointments to the above named courts but were not confirmed by the Senate to serve during good behavior. The Waco Federal Judge is experienced in patent litigation and starting to become the go-to district for intellectual property cases. The appointment of Waco’s new federal judge, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrows the venue for patent cases and Waco’s home in the federal Western District of Texas have combined into a perfect storm that could drastically alter Waco’s legal landscape.