Arizona lawmaker launches probe into ADCRR after murders at Tucson prison
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — An Arizona lawmaker is looking into the state’s corrections department after the recent murders of three inmates at a Tucson prison.
On Monday, Senate Public Safety Committee Chairman Kevin Payne announced he is launching a probe into the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry in response to the murders of inmates Saul Alvarez, Thorne Harnage, and Donald Lashley earlier this month.
On April 4, Arizona state prison officials said that Alvarez, Harnage and Lashley got into a fight with Ricky Wassenaar shortly before all three were killed. Wassenaar was named as the suspect, and authorities believed that he acted with an “intent to harm.”
Wassenaar has a history of violence, including the two-week-long hostage crisis at the Lewis Prison Complex in 2004.
Payne sent a letter to ADCRR Director Ryan Thornell requesting:
- Timeline of events
- Reports
- Policy changes
- Staffing levels
- Staffing rosters
- Other pertinent information surrounding the case and Wassenaar’s criminal history
Payne requested that this information be sent to the Senate for review by May 1. He says these details will be used to ensure that similar situations do not happen again.
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