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Federal judge appoints receiver to take over AZ prison healthcare after years of constitutional violations
Arizona has already paid more than $2 million in fines after being found in contempt of court in connection with the lawsuit, according to the court order
PrevNextA federal judge has appointed an outside receiver to take control of healthcare inside Arizona’s state prisons, ruling the state repeatedly failed to fix years of constitutional violations on its own. U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver signed the order July 17, formally appointing Annette Chambers-Smith as receiver in the long-running case Jensen v. Thornell. The ACLU first filed the lawsuit in 2012. Chambers-Smith, the former director of Ohio’s prison system, will earn $500,000 a year. All costs of the receivership, including salary, office expenses, and staffing, will be paid by Arizona and its taxpayers.
By:Ford Hatchett
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A federal judge has appointed an outside receiver to take control of healthcare inside Arizona’s state prisons, ruling the state repeatedly failed to fix years of constitutional violations on its own
U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver signed the order July 17, formally appointing Annette Chambers-Smith as receiver in the long-running case Jensen v. Thornell. The ACLU first filed the lawsuit in 2012
Chambers-Smith, the former director of Ohio’s prison system, will earn $500,000 a year. All costs of the receivership, including salary, office expenses, and staffing, will be paid by Arizona and its taxpayers
“[Arizona prisons system] fails to provide access to basic, necessary, and in many cases, life-saving care,” Sophie Hart, managing attorney at the ACLU Prison Law Office, said
Hart said the pattern of inaction has had deadly consequences
“We see multiple times where a person dies, a problem is identified. And that has to happen 2 or 3 more times for the system to actually make a change to respond to that death. And that’s unacceptable as a healthcare system and really makes Arizona an outlier,” Hart said
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The court order grants Chambers-Smith broad authority over ADCRR’s healthcare system. She can hire and fire staff, control the healthcare budget, negotiate or terminate contracts with healthcare vendors, and rewrite department policies
If Chambers-Smith determines that Arizona state laws or regulations are interfering with her ability to provide constitutional healthcare, she can ask the federal judge to waive compliance with those laws. The court specifically identified two state laws as persistent barriers: one requiring the privatization of correctional healthcare, and one capping specialist compensation
Chambers-Smith has 180 days from the effective date of her appointment to file an operational plan to fix ADCRR’s healthcare system. The receivership is set to last five years, though the order notes that timeline may be extended if necessary
Arizona has already paid more than $2 million in fines after being found in contempt of court in connection with the lawsuit, according to the court order. Those funds may be used to help support the receivership
“The order itself requires the receiver to very quickly come up with a plan to turn things around,” Hart said
For families of incarcerated Arizonans, the appointment comes after years of frustration
Sherry Gonzales’ son is housed in a Florence prison complex and suffers from seizures. She said getting him proper medical care has been a constant struggle
“Medical treatment there has been a nightmare,” Gonzales said
Gonzales said she hopes the new receiver delivers real results
“To get on the ball, get these people that have medical needs seen properly in a timely manner and follow up,” Gonzales said
Chambers-Smith led Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction from 2019 through 2026
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Ohio’s prison system, alleging it discriminated against employees with disabilities. On Christmas Day 2024, a corrections officer was murdered by an inmate in a guard shack, according to a department audit. That officer’s family filed a lawsuit against the department in December. ODRC Chambers-Smith resigned in March of 2026
In a 2022 ODRC celebratory booklet, Chambers-Smith was described this way:
“Director Chambers-Smith has made a multitude of value-based changes to the Ohio prison and parole system. She has established four core values for DRC: Take care of our staff; they will transform our offenders, ‘One team, one purpose, Civility towards all, and Hope is job one.’
Chambers-Smith has successfully put these values into motion among the staff and incarcerated population of Ohio. These values have been a catalyst to groundbreaking changes in the department. She created the Office of Employee Support Services and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to provide holistic staff support and re
While keeping safety and security a top priority, she addressed racial bias among incarcerated persons by changing classification policies and instruments to remove practices and procedures which resulted in disparate outcomes
Chambers-Smith believes in the philosophy of management by walking around. She spends a great deal of her time in the field and inside the prisons speaking to the staff who do the work each day and engaging with the incarcerated population. With this approach of listening to their ideas and suggestions, policies are developed based on the feedback of those closest to the work
She has made family engagement a priority by revitalizing visiting rooms, establishing a family advisory council, and entering a contract with a new communications vendor, which provides multiple opportunities for free communication per week
Director Chambers-Smith reorganized the Adult Parole Authority in Ohio to create a safer system that focuses on successful reentry and decreased the overall caseload of parole officers. She places value on the important role that community corrections has in the overall criminal justice continuum. Much like an ecosystem, she believes the criminal justice system operates best when all parts work in concert to create the best opportunities to mend lives.”
Hart said Chambers-Smith’s overall record makes her the right choice
“That person is Annette Chambers-Smith, who has a really excellent record of improving care in correctional systems in Ohio,” Hart said
ADCRR did not respond to a request for comment. The state has indicated it intends to appeal the receiver’s appointment and may seek a stay. Under the court order, Chambers-Smith’s appointment will not take effect until 21 days after any motion to stay is resolved
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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