PHOENIX — State officials are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block the takeover of the prison health system by a court-appointed receiver — at least until they can argue that the trial judge acted improperly.
In a new filing Wednesday, attorneys Ryan Thornell, director of the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry, said the prison system has made “tangible progress” in improving physical and mental health care for inmates since U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver ordered in 2023 that the health system be overhauled to correct what the judge said are constitutional deficiencies. That includes doubling the amount spent providing care, adding staffers, improving facilities and increased access to substance-use disorder treatment.
But the lawyers told the justices that none of that convinced Silver, who concluded earlier this year that the system that is supposed to provide care for 25,000 inmates still is not meeting its legal obligations.
