After years of the Arizona Department of Corrections failing to comply with a legal settlement requiring better health care for inmates, the judge is sending the two sides back to the negotiating table.

The state already owes $1.4 million for not complying in 2018 and could face another $1.7 million for noncompliance this year. 

In an order filed last week, U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver told the department and lawyers representing inmates that they have 60 days to reach a new settlement. 

“Each side must approach these renewed negotiations with the goal of reaching an agreement which will finally end this litigation,” Silver stated. 

Magistrate Judge Deborah Fine will oversee the renegotiations. 

In letters submitted to the court in May, lawyers detailed numerous stories in which the department failed to provide adequate treatment to inmates. 

One woman gave birth in her cell alone three days after she reported her water broke. When she reported her water broke, she was seen by medical staff but sent back to her cell, according to the letter. 

The department has a new health care contractor, Centurion, who took over from Corizon in July. However, Centurion has faced similar accusations of inadequate health care across the country. 

Silver in October gave the parties three options: Comply with the existing settlement, agree on a new settlement, or go to trial on the state’s inability or refusal to comply with the current settlement. 

“Defendants have spent millions of dollars on the present litigation and defendants appear determined to spend millions more in the future,” Silver stated in the October order. 

The parties gave different answers on which action they wanted to take. 

The Department of Corrections asked for a new settlement. Lawyers representing inmates asked for a new trial. However, the lawyers said they would enter negotiations while preparing for trial.

If a new settlement is unable to be reached, the parties must submit to the court legal reasoning for reopening the case and proceeding to trial, and every enforcement mechanism that is authorized by the stipulation and law. 

Have thoughts about Arizona’s prisons? Reach criminal justice reporter Lauren Castle at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Lauren_Castle.

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