(The Center Square) — Arizona state Senate Republicans are seeking answers after the latest in a series of inmate deaths.
The senators are asking the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, as well as Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, about conditions within state prisons.
Indalecio Garcia died Monday at Abrazo West Campus, a hospital in Goodyear. He was incarcerated at Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis in Buckeye, about 45 miles west of Phoenix. The death is under investigation.
If proven to be a homicide, Garcia’s death would be the 11th inmate homicide in Arizona correctional facilities during fiscal year 2025.
According to a state Senate GOP press release, this represents a sharp increase in homicides in correctional facilities. Previously, the last four years averaged two homicides per year.
Senate Public Safety Committee Chairman Kevin Payne, R-Peoria, sent a letter to ACDRR Director Ryan Thornell on June 4, trying to investigate the violent incidents that have occurred at prisons.
Payne gave Thornell a deadline of Wednesday, June 25, to provide him with information about his investigation, but Thornell reportedly did not respond.
The chairman said the longer he waits, the longer it takes to get “to the bottom of the gaps in security at [Arizona] state prisons,” which may cause more lives to be lost.
“On top of the murder at Lewis, we also received word of an incident at another facility in Florence where several guards were assaulted,” Payne said. “It’s only a matter of time before one of our correctional officers is killed.”
ACDRR told The Center Square in an email that it was “actively investigating” Garcia’s death and could not “comment on an active investigation.”
Since 2022, Garcia has been in ACDRR custody. He was incarcerated after being found guilty of aggravated assault and molestation of a child.
Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, echoed Payne’s concerns. She said corrections officers and staff face real threats “on any given day.”
State Senate Republicans “want to see greater oversight of ACDRR,” Shamp said. Furthermore, she called on Hobbs to take action.
Senate Majority Whip Crank Carroll, R-Rio Vista, noted a “core function of government” is to protect people who are “paying back their debts to society.” He added that “one murder is too many, let alone 11.”
This statistic should tell people that Arizona “is not doing something right,” Carroll said.
Sen. Vince Leach, R-Tucson, said his constituents are concerned about the safety of law enforcement and the inmates.
“Public safety and ensuring Arizona’s prisons are operating in a responsible manner is 100% a bipartisan issue, and it is something that must be taken seriously by Gov. Hobbs,” he said.
