The recent death of an inmate in Florence is highlighting health-care access in Arizona’s prison system once again.

Inmate Richard Washington, 64, sent a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit a month before he died, claiming he wasn't getting adequate medical treatment and worrying that it may kill him.

The state’s Department of Corrections has faced criticism for more than a decade after being hit with a lawsuit over the health-care treatment of inmates. The state settled the case and agreed to make changes, but there is disagreement about whether the state is keeping its promises.

Advocates say Washington's death didn't come as a surprise.

'I'm going to die'

Washington died Jan. 31, according to the Department of Corrections. He was serving 63 years for armed robbery, and had been incarcerated for nearly 29 years.

He claimed prison staff had refused to treat his medical issues and stopped providing his medication.

“My greatest fear is that I’m going to die more sooner than later should this treatment — or lack thereof — continues,” he wrote a month before his death.

The state has not yet responded to the letter in court filings. When asked about the claims in the letter, Department of Corrections spokesman Andrew Wilder via e-mail confirmed Washington's death, and said all inmate deaths are investigated by the county medical examiner's office.

Arizona outsources its prison health care to private companies. Corizon currently has the contract.

When asked about Washington's letter, Corizon spokesman Kurt Davis said, "We are confident that appropriate care was provided and that the investigation will yield similar findings.”

A similar case

Corene Kendrick, a lawyer at the California-based Prison Law Office, said Washington’s letter and death didn't come as a surprise because a similar thing happened with another inmate in 2017.

Just like Washington, Walter Jordan was housed at ASPC-Florence. He was serving life in prison for first-degree murder and kidnapping.

Jordan died from “apparent natural causes," the Department of Corrections said in a death notification.

A month before he died, he submitted a letter to court, claiming the department and Corizon delayed treating his cancer, and stating that he would be lucky to be alive in 30 days.

“The delayed treatment they gave me is causing memory loss, pain. Too many inmates in East unit have the same issues,” he wrote.

Dr. Todd Wilcox reviewed Jordan's medical file and submitted a declaration to the court. Jordan had skin cancer, specifically squamous cell carcinoma, he said. According to Wilcox, the illness has a 90 percent cure rate if it is identified early.

“Mr. Jordan may well have survived had he been treated by a competent dermatologist and referred to an oncologist sooner,” Wilcox stated. “Unfortunately, the dermatologist he saw was not competent, and by the time he saw an oncologist, his cancer had advanced and it was too late.”

Wilcox claimed one of the physicians who treated Jordan at the dermatology clinic was not a board-certified dermatologist, according to court records.

The state never filed a response to Wilcox's claims with the court, according to Kendrick.

Kendrick said Washington's medical file will also be reviewed by an independent expert to determine whether his death was caused by inadequate medical care.

What must the department do?

Lawyers at the Arizona Center for Disability Law, American Civil Liberties Union, the Prison Law Office and other firms filed

The Arizona Center for Disability Law filed a class action lawsuit — Parsons v. Ryan — against the Arizona Department of Corrections in 2012, alleging inadequate medical, health and dental care for prisoners.

Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Prison Law Office joined the case.

A settlement was reached in 2014, requiring the department to comply with a number of performance measures, including:

Requiring refills on chronic care or psychotropic medication to be filled promptly to assure that there is no interruption in medication.

Assuring an inmate gets a health screening by a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse within one day of arriving at an intake facility.

Requiring a treatment plan be developed — and documented — within 30 days of an inmate being diagnosed with a chronic disease.

The department is monitored to make sure it complies with the agreement. If the department isn’t compliant enough, a judge can order it to do more.

In June, a U.S. district judge found the department in contempt of court for not meeting conditions of the settlement and imposed sanctions of $1.4 million.

The state has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Inmates get a new health-care provider

Since the settlement, the prison system has gone through two for-profit health-care management companies. Last month, the department announced Centurion will take over managing health care starting in July.

Kendrick said the Prison Law Office hopes during the transition, the treatment of prisoners will not fall through the cracks, and that they will be able to see doctors and get prescriptions on time.

“We are just concerned that the transition goes smoothly,” Kendrick said.

Have thoughts on Arizona's prison system? Reach criminal justice reporter Lauren Castle at Lauren.Castle@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Lauren_Castle.