Arizona

Update: Unfortunately, this bill did not pass.

This bill would allow the Board of Executive Clemency to receive, review, and grant or deny applications for “medical confinement.” To be eligible, people in prison must have a terminal illness, extraordinary medical circumstance, incapacitating cognitive condition, or be at least 65 years old and in deteriorating health due to age. FAMM supports this bill.

Read the bill here.

Read FAMM’s memo about medical clemency in Arizona.

Read FAMM’s report card on medical clemency in Arizona.

Read FAMM’s poll showing that 70% of Americans support compassionate release

Update: Unfortunately, this bill did not pass.

Though Gov. Hobbs created the Independent Prison Oversight Commission in January 2023, it is important that the state legislature create a permanent, statutory oversight body to inspect prisons and investigate complaints from incarcerated people, families, and staff. HB 2409 would accomplish these goals. FAMM supports this bill.

Read the bill here.

FAMM National Poll: 82 percent of Americans support prison oversight.

Op-Ed: “National Opinion: Independent oversight of AZ prisons arrives right on time”

2021:

Second Chances
In Arizona, too many people are serving long prison sentences that don’t make us safer – but Arizona state laws do not give people second chances. We are not safer when prisons are full of people who have changed and shown rehabilitation, or have become elderly or seriously ill and do not pose a danger to others. FAMM’s Second Chances Agenda focuses on creating opportunities for people to have their sentences reviewed and modified.

Read about FAMM’s Second Chances Agenda in Arizona

Take Action: Add your name to the petition supporting the Second Chances Agenda!

Earned Release Credit Reform

In 2021, FAMM is supporting bills that would, if passed, increase the amount of time people in Arizona prisons can earn off their sentences for completing rehabilitative programming. Currently, people can only earn up to 15 percent off their sentences.

HB 2713

HB 2713 would, if passed, allow many people in Arizona state prisons to earn up to 30 or 50 percent off their sentences for completing rehabilitative programs. How much credit a person could earn would depend on their current offense. FAMM supports this bill.

Summary of HB 2713

Text of HB 2713

Independent Prison Oversight

Arizona’s prisons are a mess and lack transparency and accountability, making it difficult for families to help and protect their incarcerated loved ones. In 2021, FAMM is supporting HB 2167, which, if passed, would create an independent oversight body in Arizona. Under HB 2167, an independent prison ombudsman would have the power to inspect prisons, recommend improvements, and help resolve prisoner and family complaints.

Summary of HB 2167

Text of HB 2167

FAQ: HB 2167 and Prison Oversight

Article: Raising Arizona’s Commitment to Health and Safety: The Need for Independent Oversight of Arizona’s Prison System, by Prof. Michele Deitch (2021)

The Need for Oversight in Arizona Prisons: Stories from Affected Families

Support Letter from Advocates in favor of Independent Prison Oversight

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Reform

FAMM opposes mandatory minimum sentences and supports efforts to repeal or reform them and give courts more discretion at sentencing in Arizona.

HB 2673 and SB 1195 would, if passed, give Arizona courts the power to give a sentence other than the mandatory minimum sentence if that sentence is unjust and unnecessary to protect the public. The bills are different from one another. SB 1195 would apply to people sentenced for any crime. HB 2673 would apply only to people who were not convicted of violent or sex offenses or a continuing criminal enterprise. FAMM supports these bills.

Text of HB 2673

Text of SB 1195

Factsheet: The Case for Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Reform in Arizona

Repetitive Offender Enhancement Reform

Arizona law requires that certain people receive longer mandatory sentences for being “repetitive offenders.” Unfortunately, people can be considered “repetitive offenders” even for their very first conviction in court, if they are convicted for multiple crimes that are charged together in one indictment. HB 2558 would limit when a person can sentenced as a “repetitive offender.” FAMM supports this bill.

Text of HB 2558

2020:

Earned release credit reform:

During the 2020 legislative session, two bills were introduced that would have reformed how much time Arizona prisoners can receive off their sentences for good behavior and programming. Neither bill was passed and became law.

HB 2808 (Rep. Blackman) would allow people not convicted of “violent or aggravated felonies” to serve 70 percent, not 85 percent, of the sentence if they complete a rehabilitative program in prison.

HB 2753 would give almost all people in prison significantly more earned release credit as well as good time credit, depending on the offense of conviction.

HB 2808 Summary

HB 2753 Summary

Independent Prison Oversight:

During the 2020 legislative session, several bills were introduced that would have created an independent ombudsman to provide oversight of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry. The strongest of these bills was HB 2894 (Rep. Blackman), which FAMM supported. None of the oversight bills introduced were passed or became law.

HB 2894 Summary

Other prison oversight bills: HB 2069 (Rep. Blackman) and HB 2754 (Rep. Rodriguez)

Read: FAMM and The START Project Call for Removal of Arizona Corrections Director (Dec. 15, 2020)

Mandatory minimum sentencing reform:

During the 2020 legislative session, FAMM opposed HB 2036, which would have, if passed, created 5- and 10-year mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl and heroin offenses, regardless of the amount of drugs involved in the offense. Fortunately, HB 2036 was not passed and did not become law in 2020.

HB 2036 Summary

2019:

HB 2245 – Mandatory Minimum Reform

FAMM supported this bill. Unfortunately, this bill died in the 2019 session because it never received a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee. To become law, bills must first be approved by committees, then passed by the Arizona House and Arizona Senate, and signed by the governor.

HB 2245, if passed, would have allowed Arizona courts to impose a sentence other than the mandatory prison term if the mandatory prison term would (1) result in an injustice to the defendant, and (2) is not necessary to protect public safety. The exception to mandatory prison sentences would NOT apply to people convicted of continuing criminal enterprise, crimes involving death or serious bodily injury, a sex offense against a minor, or a crime in which the person played the role of a leader, organizer, manager, or supervisor of others.

Summary of HB 2245

Factsheet: HB 2245

Text of HB 2245

HB 2270 — Earned Time Credit Reform

FAMM supported this bill. Unfortunately, this bill died in the 2019 session because it never received a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee. To become law, bills must first be approved by committees, then passed by the Arizona House and Arizona Senate, and signed by the governor.

Currently, Arizona prisoners must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences, with the remaining 15 percent served on community supervision. HB 2270, if passed, would have allowed some Arizona prisoners to earn more time off their sentences for good behavior and participation in work and education programs. It would also have eliminated a requirement that prisoners attain a certain literacy level before they can be released into community supervision. If passed, eligible Arizona prisoners would have earned time credits as follows:

• One day credit for every six days served (85 percent) for prisoners sentenced for a dangerous crime against children under Section 13-705.
• One day credit for every three days served (75 percent) for prisoners sentenced for a dangerous offense under Section 13-704.
• One day credit for every one day served (50 percent) for all other prisoners, including those serving a prison term for a revocation of probation or community supervision.

Summary of HB 2270

Factsheet: HB 2270

Text of HB 2270

SB 1334/HB 2361 — Repetitive Offenders

Under current Arizona law, people can be given longer sentences as a “repetitive offender” if they are sentenced for multiple charges in one indictment – even if those charges happened within hours of each other, are part of the same case, or it is the person’s first time ever being charged with any crime. SB 1334 (introduced and formerly numbered as HB 2361) would, if passed, ensure that people would only be sentenced as repetitive offenders if they had prior historical felony convictions – i.e., they are true repeat offenders who were previously convicted of and sentenced for another crime before they committed the current offense.

FAMM supported this bill in 2019. The bill passed in the full Senate and House, but was vetoed by the governor – so the bill did not become a law. FAMM was disappointed that Governor Ducey vetoed this bill. We will continue to support this reform in future legislative sessions.

HB 2362 — Expungement

FAMM supported this bill. Unfortunately, this bill died in the 2019 session because it never received a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee. To become law, bills must first be approved by committees, then passed by the Arizona House and Arizona Senate, and signed by the governor.

If passed, HB 2362 would have allowed some people to petition the court to expunge the records of their arrest, conviction, and sentence. The court would have been authorized – not required – to grant the petition. People whose records are expunged would have been able to state that they have never been arrested, charged, or convicted of the expunged crime, except on employment applications for jobs that require fingerprint clearance cards.

Summary of HB 2362

Text of HB 2362

2018:

FAMM supported HB 2303, a bill to repeal Arizona’s mandatory minimum drug laws. The bill did not receive a vote before the Arizona Legislature and died at the end of 2018.

• Report: Drug Sentencing in Arizona: A Prescription for Failure (AFSC-Arizona, 2017)
• Opinion Editorial: “I was an addict, not El Chapo” (Stephanie Troy, AZ Central, Jan. 14, 2019)
• Report: Arizona’s Imprisonment Crisis: The High Price of Prison Growth (Sept. 2018, FWD.us)
• Report: Arizona’s Imprisonment Crisis: The Cost to Communities (Nov. 2018, FWD.us)
• Report: Arizona’s Imprisonment Crisis: The Harm to Women and Families (Dec. 2018, FWD.us)

• Stephanie Troy
• Amber Carlson
• Lisa Andrews

Encourage your state lawmakers to support mandatory minimum sentencing reform. Be sure to connect with FAMM and other sentencing reformers on Facebook, Twitter, and by signing up for our email list.

Visit our Justice Action Now Center to learn more about advocacy across the nation.

Share your story. Your personal stories are what we use to get lawmakers to listen, and to educate the general public.

Sentencing/Criminal Justice Reform Groups in Arizona:

• The START Project
• American Civil Liberties Union
• AFSC Arizona
• Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice
• Americans for Prosperity-Arizona
• Right on Crime
• FWD.us
• Justice Action Now Center