Honorable Legislators, the eleventh hour on the Kingman report

Months from now, when our elected public officials, the media and the public, evaluate the prison management style of Charles L. Ryan, what will they find and what will they say? Did the man who came from Abu Ghraib do a good job or did he sell the state prison system down the river in the name of private prison expansion and exploitation? Was it worth the hundreds of lives lost for neglecting the mentally ill, the chronic and acute medically dependent prison population and was it worth the millions paid out in litigation settlements?

Will he claim victory in giving the governor and the governor before, as well as all the elected conspirators, their share of the profits in selling human beings for labor and slavery camps? Will he secure a place in Arizona’s Hall of Shame or worse, was he the prelude to far greater horrors yet to come? The eleventh hour for the report has a great impact on the future. Whether the truth be told or hidden, will only be disclosed if you scrutinize the entire report carefully.

My hope, your hope, should be the fact that history would instead view this riot at Kingman was a catalyst; a second calling if you want or an awakening of the human mind and conscience.  This madness has to stop somewhere and now is the time for good men and women to stand up with courage and ask, no demand, the truth.

It should be your hope that this Kingman report makes you all stronger, wiser and more vigilant in the end. It is my hope it fully prepares you for future disturbances to come, if things don’t change. Don’t be afraid to ask difficult and tough questions. The report deserves nothing less and must stand on its own merits.

After all is said, what good is struggle if there is no change? What good deed  or purpose does a riot serve,  if those responsible for public safety and government integrity are not made stronger? Don’t let the means justify the end. There is more than is ever told and it’s your job to protect the public, your constituents and your government from further harm.