Families Gather to Demand Justice for Those Killed in Tucson’s Jail

Tucson, AZ – A crowd of about 60 people slowly converged on the empty plaza and parking lots of Pima County Jail Friday night. At moments the event seemed less like a protest and more like the funeral processions of six fallen youths that converged in a single place and erupted into a furious, atonal chorus of grief and anger.

Supervisor on Pima County jail deaths: ‘Need to figure out how this is happening’

The Pima County jail reported a decade-high number of deaths in 2021. Amid scrutiny the Sheriff’s Department is facing for the deaths and outcry from advocates and family members of deceased inmates, Supervisor Matt Heinz put a discussion with Sheriff Nanos on the Pima County Board of Supervisors Tuesday’s agenda.

Protest, ‘birthday party’ held outside Pima County jail after inmate deaths

A protest was held outside of the Pima County Adult Detention Complex on Friday, February 11, 2022 following the deaths of twelve people in the jail since January 2021. The protest fell on the birthday of Cruz Patino Jr. III, who died in the jail in August 2021.

Being arrested in Pima County should not be a death sentence

In 2021, one person died in Pima County Jail approximately every 31 days – the majority of them young men of color “found unresponsive in their cells.” As of Feb 2, 2022, two more young men of color have already died in the jail.