Arizona Appeals Federal Order Taking Prison Health Care Under Outside Control
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## Arizona Department of Corrections Appeals Federal Court Order to Place Prison Health Care in Receivership
The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry filed an appeal on Thursday challenging a federal judge's order that would have placed oversight of prison medical and mental health services under outside control.
U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver issued the order on February 19, appointing a "receiver" to oversee all health care services in Arizona's nine state-run prisons that house approximately 25,000 inmates. The appeal seeks review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
## Fourteen Years of Failed Oversight
The legal battle stems from a 2012 class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Prison Law Office, and Disability Rights Arizona on behalf of all people incarcerated in Arizona's prison system.
The lawsuit claimed systemic failures in health care had led to suffering and death among inmates. Federal judges have issued three orders finding unconstitutional care and levied three contempt sanctions against the department, totaling $2.5 million in fines.
Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the ACLU National Prison Project and an attorney for the plaintiffs in Jensen v. Thornell, the class action case, told the Arizona Capitol Times:
"Over the past 14 years, lawsuits have continued to flag failures in the state prison health care system. Most are handwritten, scrawled in pen or pencil, with boxes checked and lines traced. Each claim illustrates the minutiae of how the health care system continues to fail inside Arizona's prisons."
The complaints allege untreated or inadequately addressed ailments including cancer, hepatitis C, hernia, lost vision, brain bleeds, waning mental health, infected surgical wounds, seizures, chronic pain, and denied or discontinued medication.
## State Officials Disagree With Receivership
Arizona Department of Corrections Director Ryan Thornell and Deputy Director Richard Pratt are listed as appellants. The Arizona Attorney General's Office and law firm Osborn Maledon are representing the state.
In February, Thornell warned the receivership would be "exorbitantly expensive" and said the state would promptly appeal. He stated:
"If this decision stands, an exorbitantly expensive, unnecessary receiver risks disrupting the significant progress we have made in our prisons, all with no time clock on its authority. We will be promptly appealing the decision while continuing our work to comply with the Court's orders and running a secure, safe, and accountable prison system."
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs also expressed strong disagreement with the ruling, calling it "costly and unnecessary" despite "significant improvements" in prison health care over the past three years.
## Prisoners' Lawyers Support Receivership
Lawyers representing prisoners say Arizona has made few improvements since the verdict and asked the judge for the more drastic remedy of creating a receivership, arguing the system remains broken and prisoners who need care are still in danger.
"This decision means that an independent authority will be able to implement the systemic changes necessary to ensure that medical and mental health care meets constitutional standards," said David Fathi, one of the lawyers representing prisoners. "This is a life-saving intervention, and it brings hope that the preventable suffering and deaths that have haunted Arizona's prison system for over a decade can finally end."
In her February order, Judge Silver wrote that the state had not achieved even "a semblance" of compliance with court-ordered changes and the Constitution after nearly 14 years of litigation.
"This approach has not only failed completely, but, if continued, would be nothing short of judicial indulgence of deeply entrenched unconstitutional conduct," Silver wrote. "Prisoners still remain exposed to an intolerable grave and immediate threat of continuing harm and suffering because the systemic deficiencies pervade the administration of health care."
The order gave the state and attorneys representing prisoners 60 days to submit up to five candidates for receiver, who would gain operational control of all medical and mental health care in state prisons, with authority to direct staffing, spending and compliance.
## What the Receivership Would Mean
The receivership would not apply to nearly 10,000 people incarcerated in private prisons under state contracts. The affected facilities include the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence and eight other state-run prisons.
The receiver would have no set timeline for conclusion and would oversee all medical, dental, and mental health services for the approximately 25,000 people in state-run prisons.
The case is now known as Jensen v. Thornell and has spanned nearly 14 years of litigation. While the class action does not seek monetary damages on behalf of its class, individual inmates have pursued their own cases for damages.
As of April 9, more than 250 cases in Arizona District Court named the department's health care vendor as a defendant. Some complaints date back to prior vendors, but the throughline comes via a long list of claims related to untreated or inadequately addressed ailments.
## Individual Cases Illustrate Systemic Problems
The Arizona Capitol Times reported on several individual cases that demonstrate how the system continues to fail inmates.
Tyson Anderson started his lawsuit alone, but the court has since appointed pro bono counsel to represent him. Anderson was first incarcerated in 2018 and was designated as seriously mentally ill given a schizoaffective disorder diagnosis and a history of self harm and suicide risk. He also has a seizure disorder.
Over the course of his incarceration, Anderson was primarily housed in a unit where he was required to use the stairs to get to his cell. He requested a transfer, claiming a threat to his physical safety — a threat that actualized when Anderson had a seizure and fell down the stairs.
"My life will end long before I might receive medical treatment," one inmate wrote in his complaint.
Donna Hamm, executive director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, assists and advocates for inmates' health care needs. She acknowledged many inmates go to court on their own behalf.
"It's difficult to get depositions, to get evidence. Sometimes the evidence miraculously disappears, or it's never produced," Hamm said. "The department is very, very skilled at making life difficult for a civil litigant."
## What's Next
The appeal notice was filed Thursday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The state is now challenging Judge Silver's February order in hopes of overturning the receivership.
The outcome will determine whether an independent authority will take control of Arizona's prison health care system or whether the current department of corrections will continue to oversee medical and mental health services for approximately 25,000 incarcerated people.
Sources:
- Arizona Capitol Times, "Arizona prisons face growing number of health care complaints," April 10, 2026: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2026/04/10/arizona-prisons-face-growing-number-of-health-care-complaints/
- KTAR, "Arizona appeals federal takeover of prison health care system," March 20, 2026: https://ktar.com/arizona-news/az-appeals-prison-health-care/5838316/
- Arizona's Family, "Arizona prison system appeals order on inmate health care takeover," March 20, 2026: https://www.azfamily.com/2026/03/20/arizona-prison-system-appeals-order-inmate-health-care-takeover/