(Disclaimer - this is not about the practice or the
implementation of the death penalty - it’s about the administrative
responsibilities that adjoin such an activity when scheduled and taking the
appropriate steps to ensure public and staff safety)
Whether or not the public decides the legal and moral issue
of the death sentence in Arizona is to be determined in time and public
pressure to pursue dialogue and examinations of the practice. The fact is
Arizona is putting the public at risk when they exercise their legal and
statutory right to execute in the way the execution is carried out while
keeping with statute, case law and professional practices.
It is the last part of this effort to plan and prepare for
an execution that puts people at risk.
Specifically the way the execution is
carried out is detrimental to the safety of corrections employees who are
directly exposed to such dangers when things go wrong during executions.There appears to be a lack of concern within the agency to
prepare for the execution process when it comes to what is commonly referred to
as cruel and unusual punishment based on the fact of how the execution was
handled and perceived by the prison population that sits idly by under a
temporary lockdown while the execution takes place.
Policy is clear that the execution should be “handled in a
manner that minimizes its impact on the safety, security and operational
integrity of the prison and the community in which it occurs.” What this means
to those working the shift during an execution are the concerns there are
sufficient staff and resources in place and available to provide an adequate
response to unlawful civil disobedience inside the prisons as the threat exists
inside the penitentiary as well as the outside grounds where the protestors may
gather.
As a former prison official with the Arizona Department of
Corrections, I have been assigned the task of maintaining a “population
assessment” role and responsible for the coordination of monitoring and
evaluating inmate activity at ASPC Eyman and ASPC Florence under the guidance
of one of the regional directors assigned to the execution event.
The truth be told, the only purpose of such an assignment is
to continuously monitor and assess the inmate population for any activity
related to the execution or its impact on the prison’s operation. The dangerous
reality is the “imminent danger” conditions that exist before, during and after
the execution that is not addressed by additional staff available to handle
such an event if it was to disrupt statewide or within the prison complex where
the execution takes place.
The reality known by inmates on “lockdown” status are the
facts that lockdown in dormitory settings are impossible other than locking the
run gates and lockdowns usually only require a temporary halt of movement. In fact,
only two out of ten complexes are locked down for the event.Elsewhere in the state, we have a business as usual in work
assignments and other routine institutional operations are normal and carried
out even while the execution is ongoing as well as before or after such an
event.
The real concern of a botched execution is the impact it has
on the inmate population after the facts are released and publicized. There are
no contingency plans to handle a negative reaction to such impacts as an
execution brings many levels of emotion into the population as well as anger,
fear, frustration and other disruptive feelings that can often be taken out on
corrections employees doing their jobs.
It is true there are partial elements of the Special
Operations Team (TSU) present and serving in execution team activities such as
traffic control, crowd control, restraints, escort services and other
designated functions per the policy but there are hardly any assigned
internally during the execution activity thus they would have to leave their
assigned posts and respond to the facility reported to be in distress.
In addition, if the event lasts longer than one hour, there
have to be contingency plans to feed and provide essential services such as
medical treatment etc. to facilitate the mandatory services required by
standards of care.
This brings me to the final analysis that during execution
especially a botched execution that last well over two hours after the event is
a possibility of prison population disruptions [anywhere in the state] and that
we have insufficient staff on site to handle it at the moment of flashpoint
when the news reports such results via the television stations all have access
to in prisons.
It is the DOC’s presumption the general population doesn’t
care about what happens during an execution and are anxious to resume normal
movement and return back to the normal scheme of things in their environment. It
is the DOC’s decision to implement monitor and assess systems throughout the
state and have their special operations teams (TSU) ready for such happenings.
Today there is a brash attitude and a cavalier created culture
within the prison administration that such civil disobedience within the
prisons will never take place and therefore not warrant extra staff on hand to
handle such an emergency. It is feared that this arrogance carries over in the quality
of these assigned monitoring and assessment modes assigned elsewhere and the
risks will be misjudged impacting public safety, staff safety and inmate
safety.
Regardless of self-creating this “imminent danger” risk
factor, it is business as usual and staff are expected to handle whatever
problems arise with those resources available until additional responders
arrive at the facilities to take control and contain the situation. Should the
Arizona Department of Correction take executions a little bit more serious and protect
the public and staff accordingly?
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