ACLU Sues Maricopa Prosecutors to Halt ‘Retaliation Policy’ that Coerces Guilty Pleas

The Maricopa County Attorney uses a "retaliation policy" to force defendants – including innocent people – to plead guilty immediately or face "substantially harsher" penalties before any evidence has been disclosed. The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit to halt the Policy for violating a person's right to due process and a trial. "This 'Retaliation Policy' coerces thousands of guilty pleas per year and violates the Constitution," according to the federal class action lawsuit, Luckey v. Adel. This text appears at the top of a form that prosecutors often send to defendants in Maricopa's Early Disposition Courts. [...]

By Larry Bodine|2021-07-11T19:09:23-07:00July 11th, 2021|Criminal Justice|

Attorney General Brnovich Set to Use Nazi Gas as He Restarts Executions

The gas chamber used for executions in Florence, Ariz. The state last killed a death row inmate with lethal cyanide gas in 1999, drawing outrage. Moratoriums on the death penalty have been the rule in Arizona for the last seven years, resulting from the torturous death of Joseph Wood in 2014. Wood took almost two hours to die when Arizona Corrections Department officials injected him with 15 doses of a lethal cocktail. One of the drugs used to kill Wood was midazolam, a sedative also used in Oklahoma's botched execution of Clayton Lockett two months earlier. Adding to the death penalty's suspension in [...]

By Lynn Shapiro|2021-06-12T13:15:39-07:00June 12th, 2021|Arizona, Criminal Justice|

Mark Finchem Has a Lot of Explaining to Do About January 6

Do you know where your Arizona state representative was on January 6, 2021, when Trumpist domestic terrorists attempted an insurrection and stormed the Nation’s Capitol? The people who reside in LD 11 may be surprised to know that one of their state representatives, Mark Finchem apparently was closer to the attack than he professed to be at the time. Recent reporting by Jerold MacDonald-Evoy of the Arizona Mirror has relayed that footage obtained on social media showed the LD 11 State Representative and aspiring Secretary of State Candidate (God help us all) was steps away from the East Capitol pathway leading up to [...]

By David Gordon|2021-06-05T12:09:45-07:00June 5th, 2021|Criminal Justice, Local Candidates and Electeds, Uncategorized|

The 4 Priorities of Congressional Candidate Kirsten Engel

State Senator Kirsten Engel outlined her four priorities for US Congress at the May 31, 2021 meeting of Democrats of Greater Tucson. "What do I see as my priorities? What am I going to work on in Congress? I would say there are four top priorities. "My top priority is building an economy that works for everyone through investments in hard and social infrastructure. And I think that this will enable us to expand our economy, safeguard our natural resources, fight climate change, and put people to work. And I would say that that investment in hard infrastructure is important. [...]

By Larry Bodine|2021-06-02T16:29:21-07:00June 1st, 2021|Arizona, Criminal Justice, Economics, Elections, Environment|

Running for Congress in CD2, Kirsten Engel Seeks a Thriving Economy and Infrastructure Development

Arizona State Senator Kirsten Engel (D-LD10) has an impressive resume that checks all boxes as a Democratic Congressional Candidate looking to succeed the retiring Ann Kirkpatrick in 2022. Senator Engel has been: A staff attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency. A staff attorney for the Sierra Club. The acting chief of the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Division. Visiting Associate Law Professor at Vanderbilt, University of California, and Harvard. Professor of Law/Environmental Law at the University of Arizona (a position she still holds.) Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Arizona from 2012 to 2015 A member of the Arizona State [...]

By David Gordon|2021-04-20T16:56:53-07:00April 20th, 2021|Arizona Democratic Party, Criminal Justice, Economics, Elections, Uncategorized|

GOP Attorney General Indicts Two Democrats for Ballot Collection

The Republican attorney general, Mark Brnovich, indicted two Democratic Latinas for collecting ballots, using a law that has been declared unconstitutional. Most people missed the blatantly political indictment because it was surreptitiously announced the day before Christmas Eve. Arizona state Rep. Charlene Fernandez The indictment is a direct attack on the Latino tradition of taking ballots to the polls for disabled people, the elderly, and rural voters with no mail delivery. In 2016 the legislature made the longstanding practice illegal, continuing a racist history in Arizona of suppressing Latino votes. This is the first use of the “ballot [...]

By Larry Bodine|2021-01-14T09:22:54-07:00January 14th, 2021|Arizona, Criminal Justice|

Educator and Community Stalwart Rex Scott is Running for Pima Supervisor, District 1

This article first appeared on the Blog for Arizona Rex Scott has been part of the Pima County Community since 1991. A teacher, assistant principal, and principal in the local area, Scott, who also served as a City Council Member when he lived in Athens, Ohio, wants to take this professional experience and utilize it as the next District One Pima County Board Supervisor. If elected this November, Scott, a former Republican and Independent before becoming a Democrat 16 years ago, vows to be a bipartisan public servant who is a “fair, objective representative for all the people [...]

By David Gordon|2020-10-02T13:41:45-07:00October 2nd, 2020|Criminal Justice, Economics, Education, Elections, Environment, Local Candidates and Electeds|

Will the New Conservative Court Impede Medical Aid in Dying Laws?

Trump and Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett Although staunchly Catholic Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, has never weighed in on medical aid in dying legislation, she certainly believes it's a sin. She follows Pope Francis, who reiterated on September 22, that "assisted suicide and euthanasia are intrinsically evil, in every situation or circumstance.” Barrett's youngest child of seven --two of whom are adopted from Haiti-- was diagnosed with Down Syndrome during a prenatal screening but chose to keep the baby boy. Barrett, currently 48, was confirmed to the Seventh Circuit Court that includes Indiana, Illinois, and [...]

By Lynn Shapiro|2020-09-30T12:32:38-07:00September 29th, 2020|Commentary, Criminal Justice|

WATCH: Progressive Pam Powers Hannley Hits the Hot Issues

Pamela Powers Hannley, State Rep. for LD9, presented a comprehensive, bright progressive future for Arizona at the Democrats of Greater Tucson meeting on Aug. 24, 2020. Powers Hannley was elected to the Arizona House to serve Legislative District 9 in 2016, and she is running for her third term. Among many topics, Rep. Hannley discussed: Economic and public health challenges facing the Legislature in January 2021; Envisioning a more just post-COVID19 world; and Why Arizona and the US need a Blue Wave in November 2020 to have any chance of building a more just world. As a member [...]

By Larry Bodine|2020-08-25T15:41:23-07:00August 25th, 2020|Arizona, Ballot Referenda and Initiatives, Criminal Justice, Economics, Education, Elections, Healthcare, State Representative, Tucson|

We Cannot Let Terrorism Stop Our Work As Democrats

The Maricopa County Democratic Party (MCDP) Headquarters in Phoenix was set on fire around 1:00 a.m. Friday morning, according to Steven Slugocki, Chair. The Phoenix Fire Investigation Task Force and ATF have officially labeled this an arson investigation. "Our team is still in shock. Knowing that this fire was set deliberately is disturbing news, but I am relieved that no one was injured," Slugocki says. "I have been inside the office and it is unrecognizable. While the rest of the building has some water and smoke damage, the entire contents of our side of the building is a total loss. In addition [...]

By Larry Bodine|2020-07-24T17:37:45-07:00July 24th, 2020|Arizona, Arizona Democratic Party, Criminal Justice|