Jensen v. Thornell

Case Summary

In 2012, the Prison Law Office along with the ACLU National Prison Project, the ACLU of Arizona, Disability Rights of Arizona and Perkins Coie filed a class action lawsuit against the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry. The lawsuit alleged that the conditions in Arizona’s prisons caused incarcerated people to experience cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Specifically, the lawsuit claimed that the medical and mental health care systems fell below constitutional standards and that Arizona’s practice of placing people in solitary confinement was unconstitutional. After years of hotly contested litigation, a settlement was reached in 2015 on the eve of trial. However, the state failed to live up to the terms of the settlement despite being held in contempt, and in July 2021, the Court determined that the settlement was not effective in improving conditions, vacated the settlement and ordered a trial. After a trial, the Court found that the conditions were unconstitutional. The Court appointed four Monitors and issued an injunction that requires massive improvements in healthcare and substantial restrictions on the use of solitary confinement. The Prison Law Office, along with co-counsel, are currently monitoring the state’s compliance with the injunction.

Timeline

March 2012 Incarcerated patients file the case.
October 2014 The parties settle the case.
July 2021 The judge cancels the settlement after prison officials fail to comply with it.
November - December 2021 The case goes to trial. Incarcerated patients, prison officials, and experts testify.
June 2022 The judge finds that prison officials violate the constitutional rights of people in prison.
April 2023 The judge orders extensive changes to the prison healthcare system and conditions in maximum custody.
February 2024 The judge’s experts find prison officials are not complying with the judge’s order.
October 2024 The judge’s experts find prison official’s failures to comply with judge’s order increased the likelihood of, if not led to, five suicides.
January 2025 The judge’s experts find “serious and pervasive systemic health care delivery failures” in Arizona state prisons that “place the residents at significant risk of serious harm, including death.” The experts tell the judge: “And patients are dying. Unnecessarily.”
February 2025 Plaintiffs file a motion asking the judge to appoint a receiver to oversee healthcare in Arizona state prisons.

Documents & Resources