Republic's prison investigation is a finalist for major national journalism prize

Michael Braga, Arizona Republic
·4 min read
Arizona changed how it sells prisoners to companies. The state raked in millions, but workers were neglected.
Arizona changed how it sells prisoners to companies. The state raked in millions, but workers were neglected.

The Prison Sell, a 15-month investigation by The Arizona Republic and KJZZ Radio into the state’s exploitation of prisoners, was named as a finalist for the prestigious Silver Gavel Award for Media and the Arts, which recognizes outstanding work that fosters the American public’s understanding of law and the legal system.

The series — authored by Joseph Darius Jaafari, Jimmy Jenkins, Justin Price and Geoff Hing — delved into how an elite group of about 2,000 prisoners work for Arizona Correctional Industries, a state-run, for-profit company that deploys some prisoners to manufacturing facilities on-site and leases others to private companies like like Hickman’s Egg Farm, Papa John’s Salads and Fiesta Canning.

The Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry claims that those who work for ACI do so voluntarily, and the kind of training they receive helps keep them out of prison once they leave.

But that’s not true.

The reality is that most ACI workers are shunted into mundane and often dangerous jobs that don’t come with any of the protections afforded to workers on the other side of prison walls. Prisoners don’t get workers’ comp or financial assistance. It is difficult for them to sue when hurt. If they try to opt out, they can be punished. And contrary to Department of Corrections propaganda, working for ACI doesn’t help prisoners stay out of prison.

The Arizona Republic and KJZZ Radio knew this based on first-hand interviews. But the Department of Corrections would not provide the data that would have allowed the news organizations to quantify what was going on. The agency denied requests for prisoner work histories and work-related injuries.

Apr 10, 2022; Florence, Arizona, USA; An inmate from Arizona State Prison Florence West cleans up empty beer cans from the festival grounds in front of the main stage for Country Thunder 2022. The inmates are paid 90 cents an hour or 1 dollar an hour if they have a GED and a clean work history. Credit: Alex Gould-The Republic
Apr 10, 2022; Florence, Arizona, USA; An inmate from Arizona State Prison Florence West cleans up empty beer cans from the festival grounds in front of the main stage for Country Thunder 2022. The inmates are paid 90 cents an hour or 1 dollar an hour if they have a GED and a clean work history. Credit: Alex Gould-The Republic

In response to the delays and denials to requests for information, The Republic employed sophisticated computational analysis to reveal a system that indentures prisoners in order to increase profits for private industry, including friends and financial donors to former Arizona Gov. Dough Ducey.

Reporters built a computer program to scrape the Department of Corrections’ front-end website, gathering information about every person incarcerated since 1980 based on prisoner ID numbers. The data included crimes committed, sentencing information, demographic data, movement inside and outside prison, parole data, and work history, allowing the two news organizations to construct the most comprehensive prisoner database ever assembled outside the Arizona Department of Corrections.

The database permitted The Republic and KJZZ to show how prisoners are exploited in cities and towns across the state. It helped The Republic pull off a logistical analysis, which proved that ACI does not help prisoners stay out of prison as the Department of Corrections has long claimed. And perhaps most importantly, it aided reporters in reaching out and connecting with more than 60 current and former prisoners who explained their work experience.

Some lawmakers in Arizona called for change after the series was published and Corrections Director David Shinn announced his plans to retire from the agency in mid-December, ahead of a new governor taking charge. In January, at the start of the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers said they were determined to abolish Arizona’s system of indentured labor.

“Forced prison labor is nothing more than modern-day slavery, and our state's growing reliance on this workforce is irresponsible, immoral and inexcusable,” said Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Glendale, after reading the series. “Any public official with the duty to protect taxpayer dollars should be rethinking the way we appropriate money and the accountability standards that are in place.”

The Prison Sell was illustrated by Merry Eccles at USA TODAY and interactive graphics were produced by Andrea Brunty. Photos were taken by Michael Chow, Rob Schumacher, Antranik Tavitian, Alberto Mariani and Megan Mendoza.

The winners in each category of the Silver Gavel will be announced on May 24.

Selection criteria included how the entry addressed the Silver Gavel Awards’ purpose and objectives; educational value of legal information; impact on, or outreach to, the public; thoroughness and accuracy in presentation of issues; creativity and originality in approach to subject matter and effectiveness of presentation; and demonstrated technical skill in the entry’s production.

The Prison Sell is up against stories from three other newspapers.

“Captive no More: One SC Man’s Journey to Freedom After Years in Modern-day Slavery,” published by the Charleston Post & Courier; “Hawaii v. Parental Rights,” published by Honolulu Civil Beat; and “Juvenile Injustice,” published by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Investigation into Arizona prison labor finalist for national prize