The county jail

(August 11, 2023) Delayed notification: The Pima County Sheriff’s Department failed to notify the family of an inmate who died in jail for more than two months, the Tucson Sentinel’s Natalie Robbins and Dylan Smith report. Caleb Kenowski's family was notified of his May 21 death on Tuesday, after the family spent months posting on social media, searching for information and repeatedly calling Tucson-area hospitals and the jail. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told the Sentinel that there’s no record of the family contacting the department.

(August 11, 2023) And the band played on: Protestors shut down the Pima County jail’s Blue Ribbon Commission meeting Thursday morning, the Arizona Luminaria reports. The committee walked out of the room and adjourned the meeting after just four minutes, with Chair Paul Wilson telling the Luminaria the group didn’t feel like they could have a productive meeting with a band playing and audience shouting. People can still submit comments about the jail by emailing **[email protected]**

(August 21, 2023) Take two: The Pima County jail’s Blue Ribbon Commission will be holding a virtual meeting today at 9:30 a.m. before delivering its recommendations next month to supervisors. The commission’s last meeting ended after four minutes due to protestors. Today’s meeting includes a 75-minute public comment period, but people who want to speak must register in advance by calling 520-724-8801 or emailing [email protected]. Public comments can also be submitted online by clicking here. Find details about how to watch the meeting here.

(August 24, 2023) Breaking down the problem: With 15 jail-related deaths so far this year, Arizona Luminaria’s John Washington has broken down their nearly year-long investigation into the Pima County jail into seven important takeaways.

(September 28, 2023) Needs to be fixed: Another person died at the Pima County jail, KGUN’s Bivian Contreras reports. A 36-year-old man was found unresponsive around 1 a.m. Tuesday. An autopsy has been conducted to determine cause of death. The jail has come under intense scrutiny amid the rising number of in-custody deaths.

(October 4, 2023) Two more months: The Blue Ribbon Commission set up to look into the Pima County jail will have an additional 60 days before they submit their report, Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher wrote in a memo. The commissioners said they wanted to “get it right” before they released their report.

(November 21) A small victory: A recent court ruling in a lawsuit over a teenager’s death in the Pima County jail could lead to new insights into why people keep dying of drug-related causes in the jail, the Arizona Luminaria’s John Washington writes. A federal judge ruled last week that the lawsuit about 18-year-old Sylvestre Inzunza’s death may proceed to the legal stage of discovery, meaning parties must share previously undisclosed documents. Since the beginning of 2022, at least 18 people have died in the jali and another 23 people have died within 30 days of being released.

Jail dispute isn’t over: Sheriff Chris Nanos is still pushing to get a new jail, despite indications from the Pima County Board of Supervisors that they are looking at less costly alternatives than spending $850 million to replace the jail, KGUN’s Kenny Darr reports.

"I don’t know if you can ever remodel this one. It is in such disrepair. They can say all they want, it’s not in crisis," Nanos said. "I can show you video today, just today, of water spraying everyone and it’s not raining. It’s a mess and they know it's a mess."

(February 2) Survey says: Local people who responded to the survey about the Pima County Jail didn’t agree on much, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. The Blue Ribbon Commission, which was put together to deal with the aging jail facility, asked the public for their input last month and nearly 2,000 people responded. Options to renovate, rebuild, or not expand the jail at all each got 18% of the responses. Nearly half said they didn’t want to pay any more tax dollars for a new jail. More than half said the jail didn’t have adequate healthcare for inmates. (Tucson Agenda)

(February 8) Big bucks for a new jail: The commission evaluating the Pima County Adult Detention Center said building a new jail could cost upwards of $800 million, the Arizona Luminaria’s John Washington writes. The commission’s final report recommends hiring a consultant to evaluate how to best spend taxpayer dollars and says that while there’s no jail population crisis now, one is on the horizon. The 269-page report doesn’t offer a definitive answer as to whether or not a new jail should be built, but commission members agree that something must be done to “relieve the strain of current conditions.” About 2,000 community members weighed in through a public survey, with responses varying between people who want and those who don’t want a new jail.

Focus on the smaller stuff: County officials should focus on making safety repairs and boost funding for healthcare at the county jail, instead of large-scale renovations or building a new jail, until they have more information, County Administrator Jan Lesher wrote in a memo to the supervisors this week. She suggested they form a new commission to see about lowering the jail’s population, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. (February 16)

(February 20) County officials’ tough choices don’t end with asylum. The board of supervisors also has to figure out what to do about the county jail. Sheriff Chris Nanos asked the supervisors to fund a new jail, citing the jail’s aging facilities, while rights advocates called for reform after more people started dying in the jail. The county formed a Blue Ribbon Commission last March to see what should be done. They came back in December with recommendations about renovating the jail or building a new one. The thing is, those options would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Lesher said she wants to look at smaller fixes, such as improving healthcare in the jail. County Supervisor Matt Heinz wants the board to consider a recommendation from Just Communities Arizona to reduce the number of people sent to the jail in the first place. The supervisors will discuss the commission’s findings at their meeting today, and probably many more times over the next few months. (Tucson Agenda)

"I don’t know if you can ever remodel this one. It is in such disrepair. They can say all they want, it’s not in crisis," Nanos said. "I can show you video today, just today, of water spraying everyone and it’s not raining. It’s a mess and they know it's a mess." (March 15)

(April 1) The problems at the county jail aren’t going away and the supervisors are deciding whether to charter a new Blue Ribbon Commission to find a fix. A similar commission tried to find a solution last year, but they didn’t come up with a specific recommendation. Sheriff Chris Nanos insists the jail is beyond repair and the county should build a new one, while the supervisors are hesitating to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on it. County officials have spent years trying to find a solution, as County Administrator Jan Lesher showed in 274 pages of memos she and her predecessor sent to the board over the past few years. (Tucson Agenda)

(April 3) Learning from the past: Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher says that a new commission tasked with reexamining jail reform will take into account past criminal justice reform efforts, *Arizona Public Media’*s Hannah Cree reports. The Pima County Criminal Justice Reform Advisory Commission was formed in 2018, but its work was interrupted in 2020 by the pandemic. Lesher wrote in a memo to supervisors that she was assembling a new commission of 15 to 20 county staffers to continue the efforts of the 2018 commission in combination with the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recent findings.

(April 4) Still at a crossroads: The Pima County supervisors don’t agree on what to do about the county jail or what the county’s responsibilities are, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. At Tuesday’s meeting, they offered different visions of what they want done while County Administrator Jan Lesher puts together a task force to set up a commission she’s calling the Justice System and Infrastructure Review Committee.