Attorneys Blocked from Jails in Pinal County, AZ

Michael Green, an immigration attorney in Pinal County, AZ, has been trying since last Saturday, June 13, to access clients of his in the jails. There are four main jails in Pinal County.

"One facility is completely locked down, while another jail has only one pod locked down. It's been shut down all week," Green stated today in a phone call conversation.

Calls to the jails have revealed nothing - "I've checked my e-mails and I've heard nothing about it," one deputy stated. Several deputies have denied any knowledge of a death at the jail from the N1H1 flu.

However, interviews with an inmate have revealed a different story. Jose Allemonte has been jailed for close to three months. "There is no commissary access. They never notified the public. My attorney travelled there and back, and it was a waste of both time and money. I heard that there was a death that was attributed to the N1H1 virus."

Calls to the CDC early in the week revealed that there was no knowledge of any N1H1 pandemic within the Pinal County jails.

Calls to local newspapers and TV stations at 11am this morning revealed that they, too, had not received any notification of jails locking down attorney access due to the N1H1 flu.

"It's really not fair," Allemonte stated. He is awaiting trial, which is set for later this month, and needs to see his attorney about new developments in his case work.

The N1H1 flu virus has been blamed for deaths throughout Mexico, and more information on the N1H1 flu can be found at the US Dept of Defense website dedicated to the disease. It is located at: http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/0509_h1n1/

Sources:
Allemonte, J. Telephone conversation interviews (6/15/2009)
Green, M. Telephone conversation. (06/16/2009)
US Dept of Defense. http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/0509_h1n1/