PHOENIX - The head of the state prison system wants a federal judge to give him a little more time to fix problems in its healthcare system before seizing control of it.
In a new court filing, Ryan Thornell acknowledges that it has been nearly 14 years since inmates filed suit alleging unconstitutional neglect in the physical and mental health care provided at the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry.
After a series of court orders and fines did not work, Judge Roslyn Silver issued a 200-page order in 2022 finding that the care provided "is plainly grossly inadequate'' and that state officials were acting "with deliberate indifference'' to the substantial risk of harm to inmates. And that resulted in an April 2023 injunction directing the state to remedy the problems.
