In Arizona, a federal lawsuit filed Monday by the NAACP and five prisoners accuses the Arizona Department of Corrections of practicing slavery and cruel and unusual punishment through private prisons. The lawsuit says prisoners are treated like property to create profit for corporate owners and shareholders. Although the five plaintiffs are white, the lawsuit also points to the disproportionate effect mass incarceration has on Black and Brown people, who make up over half of Arizona’s prison population.
In other news from Arizona, President Trump is planning a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border wall in the city of Yuma today, ahead of a campaign rally in Phoenix.