Arizona To Send Inmates To Kingman Facility Again

Associated Press

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Department of Corrections will resume sending prisoners to a privately-operated facility in Kingman starting next week.

The DOC ordered security and operational improvements after last July's escape of three inmates from the 3,400-bed facility.

Officials found deficiencies such as poor staff training and a faulty alarm system that gave false signals so frequently that staff members ignored it.

The three inmates cut their way through a prison fence after an accomplice threw tools into the prison yard. Two of the escapees face capital murder and carjacking charges stemming from the deaths of an Oklahoma couple in New Mexico days after the escape.

Officials say restrictions will prevent the Kingman prison from receiving inmates convicted of murder or attempted murder or those who have a history of escape attempts.