Sylvia Allen, president pro tem of the Arizona Senate, has introduced legislation that would have shielded jail guards from taking lie detector tests after her son-in-law was fired from a county jail following administrative charges of having sex with inmates and violating contraband policy.
Allen, a leading Republican/TEA Party nut in the Arizona legislature, is widely known for her claim that the world is 6,000 years old, and her desire to take public land from the federal government.
Allen's son-in-law, Tim Hunt, was removed from his position at the Navajo County Jail after failing a lie detector test. He is awaiting criminal prosecution in Yavapai County after his trial was moved to avoid potential conflicts.
Hunt allegedly received oral sex from an inmate in exchange for a cigarette.
Other disciplinary action was taken because of allegations of sleeping on the job, and abandoning his post.
Allen was a county supervisor at the time of the incident and attempted to interfere in the investigation.
After being elected to the Legislature, Allen introduced the bill without disclosing to her colleagues that she had a personal interest in the matter. She disclosed a family tie to the issue during a hearing.
The provision about protecting guards from lie detector tests was removed after an uproar from chiefs of police.
It still contains provisions that would lengthen the time necessary to take administrative action against a guard who was violating rules.
It is odd that Allen, as far right as one could get without piercing the edge of the Universe, is carrying a bill favored by the guards' union. As mentioned by Navajo County Sheriff K.C. Clark, "blood is thicker than water."
Neither the guard's union, their law firm, nor Allen have disclosed any details about financial transactions involving Hunt's defense expenses or lobbying for the bill. Allen has said she is supporting the bill personally rather than carrying it for a lobbying group.
The story is written up in the Arizona Republic, the state's leading newspaper.
http://www.azcentral.com/...