In light of Arizona prisons facing increased health care complaints from its incarcerated population, a federal judge in February 2026 ordered a takeover of health care operations in the state’s prisons and planned to appoint an official to run the system. The decision by U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver came after her 2022 verdict that concluded Arizona had violated prisoners’ rights by providing inadequate care that led to suffering and preventable deaths.

Silver wrote that the state hasn’t gotten a semblance of compliance with court-ordered changes and the Constitution after nearly 14 years of litigation, saying “this approach has not only failed completely, but, if continued, would be nothing short of judicial indulgence of deeply entrenched unconstitutional conduct.”

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, and its rotating vendors have been tied up in a class action lawsuit over inadequate health care since 2012 in Jensen v. Thornell. As the court record grows, the number of individual incarcerated persons pursuing their own relief and damages expands, too. 

As of April 9, more than 250 cases in Arizona District Court named the department’s current health care vendor, NaphCare, as a defendant. 

Some complaints date back to prior vendors, but includes a long list of claims related to untreated or inadequately addressed ailments; cancer, hepatitis C, hernia, lost vision, brain bleeds, waning mental health, infected surgical wounds, seizures, chronic pain, denied or discontinued medication. Federal judges have issued three orders now finding unconstitutional care and levied three contempt sanctions against the department, totaling $2.5 million.

Over the past 14 years, the class action has sought changes to the policies and practices of the Department of Corrections. But attorneys for the plaintiffs do not seek any monetary damages on behalf of its class, leaving incarcerated people to pursue it for themselves. Donna Hamm, executive director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, assists and advocates for the health care needs on Arizona’s incarcerated population. Though she works to refer cases to pro bono attorneys, she acknowledged many go to court on their own behalf.

“It’s difficult to get depositions, to get evidence. Sometimes the evidence miraculously disappears, or it’s never produced,” Hamm said. “The department is very, very skilled at making life difficult for a civil litigant.”

Tyson Anderson started his lawsuit alone, but the court has since appointed pro bono counsel to represent him. Anderson was first incarcerated in 2018. He was designated as seriously mentally ill, given a schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, and a history of self harm and suicide risk. He also has a seizure disorder. Over the course of his incarceration, Anderson was primarily housed in a unit where he was required to use the stairs to get to his cell. He requested a transfer, claiming a threat to his physical safety; a threat that actualized when Anderson had a seizure and fell down the stairs. 

Anderson lost his job due to lack of disability accommodations and spent more and more time in isolation. Then, a nurse discontinued his seizure medication after claiming he was faking. He had two more seizures. In one instance, he woke up face down in a pool of blood from a head injury. His mental state continued to worsen, he was still in solitary confinement when he raised concerns with court monitors in Jensen v Thornell. 

After an initial pro bono appointment was unsuccessful, Anderson secured steady counsel in August 2024 after attorneys Kaitlin Dimaggio and Allie Hakala took on his case. In February 2026, Judge Diane Humetewa denied the department and defendants’ motion for summary judgment, ruling a reasonable jury could find harm to Anderson and deliberate indifference to his condition. 

“She just wrote out exactly what our client experienced and went through,” Dimaggio said. “It went far beyond medical neglect. It was active abuse.” 

You can read more in “They’re giving me up to die” in the AZ Mirror, an independent, nonprofit news organization that is focused on fearless journalism that shines a light on injustice and creates real-world change.