The Brief

PHOENIX - Arizona's top corrections official faced hours of questioning from lawmakers and critics at a legislative hearing Tuesday on state prison violence and safety.

The next day, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) Director Ryan Thornell defended his leadership, while critics maintained the department's policies are failing inmates and staff.

What they're saying:

During the ad hoc committee hearing on prison practices, prison reform advocate Donna Leone Hamm voiced concerns over a continued increase in inmate-on-inmate assaults. "What they're doing doesn't seem to be hitting the mark," Hamm said.

Former ADCRR employee Travis Scott, who retired in May after more than three decades with the department, also testified against the

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