| NEWS | Gas Cap A Jewish group sues Arizona Corrections to scrap the gas chamber. BY ELIAS WEISS cyanide, the same poisonous gas that Nazis used to slaughter 1.1 million Jewish people in Auschwitz. After a 23-year hiatus, Arizona last year A Dim City Lights Police say a profane highway prank is a crime. BY ELIAS WEISS M otorists zooming past construction sites at night are likely familiar with the copper-colored glow of hal- ogen bulbs illuminating traffic rules such as “BUCKLE UP” or “LANE CLOSED AHEAD.” Such traffic signs do not typically display vulgar sexual commands to Valley residents during their daily commutes. But last week was not a typical one. A $30 million roadwork project in North Phoenix was briefly derailed one night after pranksters hijacked the controls of an electronic message board near Interstate 17 and Thunderbird Road. The flashing sign and its messages are overseen by the project’s prime contractor, North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel Co., which has its secondary headquarters in Tempe. Backlit message boards will remain at the site until next year as workers install a drainage system between Greenway Road and Dunlap Avenue. The 3,000-pound sign made by Colorado-based Wanco Inc. displays three lines of text with up to eight characters on each line. That was just enough space for prank- sters to display the lewd haiku “SUCK MY ASSHOLE” to motorists driving past a stretch of I-17 that sees more than 100,000 vehicles every day. The moment of levity for stressed-out drivers may seem innocent, but is illegal. Whoever is responsible could be charged with a misdemeanor under an Arizona law that makes it illegal to “alter, 8 deface, injure, knock down, or remove an official traffic control device.” If Phoenix police track down the culprit, that person could face six months in jail and a $2,500 fine. A judge could also impose up to three years of probation. It’s the same punishment as a DUI conviction. “We haven’t had this happen very often,” Phoenix Police Sergeant Phil Krynsky said. “We are looking into it.” According to Krynsky, the suspect could also be charged with “criminal damage” or worse, a computer hacking crime, which could be a felony. The police department could not immediately determine if it had received any formal reports about the mishap. “We haven’t yet heard of a decision regarding contact with police,” Arizona Department of Transportation spokes- person Doug Nintzel said. The text on the sign was not corrected until late into the night, Nintzel added. Motorists pulling off the interstate to fill up their gas tanks or grab a late dinner at the Taco Bell or Whataburger on Thunderbird Road were confronted with the profane message that was captured on a TikTok video and later shared on Reddit. Whoever the merry prankster was had the finesse needed to bypass the traffic signal’s onboard security system. According to Wanco, “multi-level password protection limits access to control software” and the control box locks “to prevent unauthorized access.” That didn’t hinder the mystery lawbreaker. Fisher Sand and Gravel said it is “not in a position to speculate” if one of its own Reddit This message board should have warned drivers that the I-17 frontage road was closed ahead. Instead, it displayed this vulgar message. employees manipulated the message board. The Phoenix Police Department could launch its own investigation to answer such a query. Electronic message board technology is expensive, but security measures are included in the high price tag, manufac- turers claim. New LED message signs cost roughly $300,000, according to ADOT. The signs provide “a brighter, clearer light, so it’s easier to see the signs and read the messages,” said Chuck Hill, who oversees lighting for ADOT. In this case, however, such a traffic sign message may prompt uncomfortable passenger conversations, especially if children are in the car. There are no security cameras around the Thunderbird Road underpass where the sign sits. The potential lack of video proof is likely to make a police department investigation more difficult. According to the transportation depart- ment, “it is rare” for people to meddle with traffic signs on the roadside, Nintzel said. But hacking any department of transportation signs to display vulgar messages is more common than you might think. Across several states, from North Carolina to Pennsylvania and Maryland, traffic sign shenanigans have popped up in the past four years, according to the Washington Post, USA Today, and count- less local media outlets. “This serves as another reminder for those who operate such portable signs to take precautions,” Nintzel said. “While incidents for our projects have been rare, they can happen.” In the meantime, stay classy Phoenix. “refurbished” its gas chamber and declared it was ready to begin gassing inmates to death once again. “It’s a form of torture to execute some- body through lethal gas,” said Tim Eckstein, chairman of the board of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix. When exposed to hydrogen cyanide individuals experience “intense visceral pain” across their arms, shoulders, back, and chest, attributed to the lack of oxygen at the cellular level in the body. The experience is described as “air hunger” and compared to suffering a heart attack or being drowned while still conscious. “The historical connection to the Nazis is particularly resonant for our community,” Eckstein said. There are 80 Holocaust survivors in Arizona who pay taxes that support poten- tial lethal gas executions at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence, according to the lawsuit jointly filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and London- based multinational law firm DLA Piper. “The idea that the state of Arizona could be using that method is particularly offen- sive and disheartening,” said Eckstein, because the use of hydrogen cyanide is “in direct violation with Jewish values.” For taxpayers Jewish or not, procuring potassium cyanide and refurbishing the gas chamber is problematic, Eckstein said. The new lawsuit names Arizona Department of Corrections Director David Shinn and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. The Jewish Community Relations Council and two Arizona taxpayers are seeking a ruling declaring gas chamber executions “cruel and unusual punishment,” in violation of the state constitution. “The use of cyanide gas is barbaric and has no place in today’s world,” said Jared Keenan, ACLU’s lead attorney in the case. “It is clearly unconstitutional.” The Eighth Amendment to the >> p 10 recent lawsuit is challenging Arizona’s plan to execute death row inmates with hydrogen MARCH 3RD– MARCH 9TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
