Arizona inmate health care trial begins

A lawsuit over the quality of health care for more than 27,000 people incarcerated in Arizona’s prisons is headed to trial today after a 6-year-old settlement resolving the case was thrown out. A judge had faulted the state for making erroneous excuses and baseless arguments and said the failure to provide adequate care for prisoners led to suffering and preventable deaths. Lawyers for the prisoners are asking the judge to take over medical and mental health operations in state prisons and appoint an official to run those services. The state has denied allegations it was providing inadequate care.