Arizona transferring inmates from prison cells secured by only padlocks

This July 23, 2014, file photo shows a state prison in Florence. The Arizona Department of Corrections has started transferring inmates from parts of a Phoenix-area state prison where a union representing guards says problems with cell door locks led to an inmate's death and the severe beating of two guards. (AP photo, file)

This July 23, 2014, file photo shows a state prison in Florence. The Arizona Department of Corrections has started transferring inmates from parts of a Phoenix-area state prison where a union representing guards says problems with cell door locks led to an inmate's death and the severe beating of two guards. (AP photo, file)

PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Corrections has started transferring inmates from parts of a Phoenix-area state prison where a union representing guards says problems with cell door locks led to an inmate's death and the severe beating of two guards.

The department announced the moves in a Monday night statement and said the transfers from Lewis prison in Buckeye to other state-run lockups will reduce the number of inmates in cells now secured with padlocks.

The goal is to ensure there are enough corrections officers on duty for their own safety and the safety of prisoners, department spokesman Andrew Wilder said Tuesday.

Three high-security units that have 1,000 two-man cells are affected by the lock issues, which the department has been trying to solve since January 2018.

Evacuating prisoners in an emergency when cell doors are padlocked is a concern, and the state fire marshal has ordered stepped-up evacuation drills.

"By transferring some of the inmates to other state-run facilities in a temporary measure, it alleviates some of the pressure at these units and it enables enhanced staffing levels and our ability to address the long-term problems," Wilder said.

The prison about 45 miles west of downtown Phoenix houses more than 5,000 inmates. Wilder declined to say how many are being transferred until the moves are completed.

The cells have sliding doors and a mechanism that secures them when they are closed. Inmates were placing objects in the locking mechanisms that allowed the doors to be re-opened while showing on electronic monitoring systems that they were secured.

"Inmates have tampered with doors in correctional facilities here in Arizona and elsewhere previously, but not to the level that was experienced in these units," Wilder said.

Early last year, prison officials installed pins on some of the doors to secure them, but inmates tampered with that system too. So beginning early this year, officials began padlocking some cells.

An inmate died last year after other prisoners got out of their cells and beat him. Two corrections officers were severely beaten.

The lock issues and the attacks were revealed in an ABC15 report that prompted the department to put padlocks on all 1,000 affected cells.

The guards union and an inmate rights group have said the department and its director, Charles Ryan, failed to quickly address the issue. Democratic state lawmakers called for Ryan to be ousted.

Gov. Doug Ducey last week hired two retired state Supreme Court justices to investigate the problem at Lewis and to see if it extends to other state prisons.

"I understand the outcry," Ducey said Monday. "I am deeply concerned and want to understand before further decisions are made so that we can do things that are in the best interest of the correctional officers and the men and women that are inside the prisons."


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