A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has found a prison whistleblower not guilty in a controversial aggravated assault case.
In a tersely delivered verdict, Judge Joseph Kiefer cleared former prison Lt. Mark Hasz after a multi-day bench trial.
“In CR2020-136173, State of Arizona v. Mark Hasz, the court finds the defendant Mark Hasz on the charge of count one aggravated assault, not guilty,” Kiefer said.
It was the second timethat the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office tried Hasz.
Last October, the first attempt ended in a mistrial because the jury hung on a 6-2 vote that favored acquittal.
MCAO then decided it no longer wanted a jury trial and requested the same judge re-hear the case and issue a verdict.
Hasz was fired and charged with aggravated assault after a use-of-force incident on July 21, 2020, inside the Lewis prison complex.
Months before the use-of-force incident that led to his criminal charges, Hasz spoke publicly to ABC15 about concerns inside the prison system and how top officials were responding to COVID-19.
“They went after him to destroy him,” said Shaun Holland, a fellow whistleblower and former assistant deputy warden.
Holland, who was present during Hasz’s alleged assault on July 21, 2020, wasn’t charged himself but was fired. “Absolute retaliation,” he said. “They needed a reason to fire us. They found something. And they retaliated against us.”
ABC15 previously separately obtained leaked videos of violent incidents that raise questions about the cases ADCRR has chosen to refer for prosecution or keep to themselves.
During the first trial, Kiefer precluded Hasz’s defense team from telling the jury that he was a whistleblower or showing them other prison use-of-force incidents that were never charged.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has disputed any allegation of retaliation.
In a previous statement, a spokesperson wrote: “It is not, and never would be, the practice of this office to charge someone with a crime in retaliation for acts taken by any individual. In this matter, a case was submitted to this office by a law enforcement agency. Prosecutors reviewed the facts and evidence and made the decision that a crime had been committed and charged the case appropriately.”
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
