By Elizabeth Stuart
Phoenix News Times
KINGMAN, Ariz. — A three-day riot at an Arizona private prison that sent 13 people to the hospital and led to the relocation of more than 1,000 inmates earlier this month was driven, in part, by poor living conditions, according to the prisoner rights organization Middle Ground Prison Reform.
In a letter delivered to Governor Doug Ducey on Friday, the nonprofit outlines complaints obtained from family members of inmates housed at Arizona State Prison-Kingman, including allegations of violence and inadequate access to food and medical care.
“Contrary to the belief of many in prison administration, government, and media, most prison disturbances are not the result of inmate organization; they are due to administrative disorganization,” writes Donna Leon Hamm, executive director, and James Hamm, director of legal services. “When administrative or program staff are not accessible to inmates, or act as though their attention to the inmate’s issues or problems is a nuisance … tension builds up.”
Full story: Poor living conditions sparked Kingman prison riots