A new investigative documentary delves into deaths in the Pima County jail through interviews with family members who have lost loved ones, public officials and criminal justice experts studying incarceration. It also includes newly released bodycam footage of the brutal reality of what it’s like behind bars.

The 28-minute documentary by AZPM in partnership with Arizona Luminaria premiers on PBS, Friday, Jan. 10 at 9 p.m. You can also watch it online starting at 9 p.m.

There have been 58 deaths in the Pima County jail since 2017. And yet the headlines can’t capture the complexity of conditions inside the jail or why it’s often the only option for people with mental health illness and substance use disorders.

Based on years of investigations into the Pima County jail, the documentary takes a hard look both behind and beyond the bars, probing how the criminal justice system often leaves people locked up instead of offering help. Despite a recent decrease in the death rate, this investigation shows the conditions inside remain grueling.

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Arizona Luminaria’s Original reporting

Medical care in Pima County jail is dangerously delayed as pleas for help are ignored and mismanaged, say inmates and employees

Missing medicine, mental health crises and serious symptoms are routinely scoffed at by guards and neglected by health care provider NaphCare, according to government records and current and former inmates and employees. NaphCare’s first full year as the jail’s medical contractor was the deadliest in recent history — with most of the deaths related to overdoses or suicide.
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John Washington covers Tucson, Pima County, criminal justice and the environment for Arizona Luminaria. His investigative reporting series on deaths at the Pima County jail won an INN award in 2023. Before...