AltWeeklies Wire
The Oldest Person on Death Row in the U.S. Dies of Natural Causesnew
For the phrase "natural causes" to have been in the same headline as the name Viva Leroy Nash is purely ironic. Nash, who died Feb. 12, at age 94 — he was the oldest person on death row in the United States — escaped legal execution by the state of Arizona for more than a quarter of a century.
Phoenix New Times |
Paul Rubin |
02-23-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Sheriff's Detention Officers Unnecessarily Terrorized a Psychotic Inmatenew

Eric Vogel was a seriously mentally ill Phoenix man who died (of a heart attack, officially) in December 2001, a week after a violent incident with the jailers at the now-closed Madison Street Jail. The civil case was filed by Vogel's survivors.
Phoenix New Times |
Paul Rubin |
02-16-2010 |
Civil Liberties
Valley Smokers Buy, Steal, and Inhale JWH-018 to Get Highnew
The herb on the counter resembles sage mixed with crumbled marijuana, but it's fuzzier and fluffier, filled with tiny brown hairs and minuscule crystals. It smells like dry leaves and black licorice and it's being sold in head shops as an "herbal incense blend."
Phoenix New Times |
Niki D'Andrea |
02-09-2010 |
Drugs
An Obsessive Patrol Cop Tried to Nail the Wrong Guy in the Baseline Killer Casenew
Phoenix police had arrested Mark Goudeau on September 6, 2006 (his 42nd birthday), on charges of sexually assaulting two sisters at a park near 31st Avenue and Baseline Road. The attacks on the sisters, one of whom was six months pregnant, had occurred one year earlier.
Phoenix New Times |
Paul Rubin |
02-09-2010 |
Crime & Justice
A Statewide Sales Tax Hike For the Arts, In This Economy?new
One hundred million dollars. That's how much money the Metro Phoenix Partnership for Arts and Culture hopes to generate from a new tax hike proposal quietly being prepared for voters. One hundred million freakin' dollars, each year.
Phoenix New Times |
Sarah Fenske |
01-26-2010 |
Economy
A Cadre of Karate Instructors Wind Up Dead or Facing Prison Timenew
Twenty gallons of gasoline were poured into a 400-square-foot room. The pungent liquid soaked the floor, desk, and computer inside the small office. It was about 12:30 a.m. on the cool Sunday morning of June 14, and the room was dark.
Phoenix New Times |
Ray Stern |
01-26-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Strip Searches at Maricopa County Jails Are Under Firenew

The United States Supreme Court has never officially weighed in on whether it's permissible to strip-search arrestees charged with minor crimes, like Michelle Miguel. But plenty of lower courts have — and they agree that the practice is unconstitutional.
Phoenix New Times |
Sarah Fenske |
01-12-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Nothing is Sacred in the Wacked Legal World of Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomasnew
Andrew Thomas and Joe Arpaio increasingly have become addicted to launching investigations against any and all political enemies, real and invented. It's not just about ACLU attorneys, illegal immigrants, electoral opponents, and newspaper publishers anymore.
Phoenix New Times |
Paul Rubin |
12-29-2009 |
Immigration
Suicidal Tendencies: The Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections Is a Bloody Messnew
The Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections is supposed to educate and rehabilitate juvenile delinquents. Instead, the agency has become the state's adolescent mental hospital, a job it's clearly not equipped to handle.
Phoenix New Times |
Amy Silverman |
12-22-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Is Obama Hard Enough to Confront the Evil of Sheriff Joe Arpaio?new

Obama's federal investigators are here in Phoenix examining the assaults against human rights perpetrated by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Are they unearthing evidence or burying it?
Phoenix New Times |
Michael Lacey |
12-15-2009 |
Crime & Justice
A U.S. Citizen Testifies Before Congress About Being Racially Profilednew
Julio Mora testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in April, the star witness during a hearing held on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) agreements with local police entities. He and his dad were detained for three hours during a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office immigration raid.
Phoenix New Times |
Stephen Lemons |
12-08-2009 |
Civil Liberties
Does U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke Have the Stones to Take on Sheriff Joe Arpaio?new
Will anything be done about Arpaio's possible violations of federal law? Everyone knows the Department of Justice and the FBI are investigating Arpaio, but will new U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke do anything about Arizona's rogue sheriff? History does not bode well.
Phoenix New Times |
Stephen Lemons |
11-10-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Why Did a Pregnant Latina, Detained After a Traffic Stop, Have to Give Birth in Shackles?new

Alma Chacon's case raises questions about the use of racial profiling by Maricopa County sheriff's deputies during traffic stops, but, most importantly, sheds light on the mistreatment of unconvicted immigrants inside county jails.
Phoenix New Times |
Valeria Fernández |
10-27-2009 |
Race & Class
State of Fear in Arizona: Permanent Legal Resident Stopped For Being Brownnew
Rosa's husband is a U.S. citizen. She's a legal permanent resident, on her way to becoming a citizen herself. She plans to raise a family and go back to school. But she's thinking twice about doing either in Arizona after her run-in with two sheriff's deputies a couple of months ago.
Phoenix New Times |
Stephen Lemons |
10-20-2009 |
Race & Class
Downtown Phoenix is Full of Gleaming Progress Surrounded by Vacant Lots -- Now What?new

With boring old suburban McMansions commanding a half-million dollars, you can see why developers decided that downtown Phoenix would be the next big thing. And then the bottom dropped out.
Phoenix New Times |
Sarah Fenske |
10-20-2009 |
Housing & Development