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June 04, 2009
AZ: Maybe or Maybe NOT? Following death of Marcia Powell from exposure DOC will discontinue the use of outdoor cages until they figure out an alternative
Ariz. prisons discontinue use of outdoor cells
Associated Press - June 2, 2009 8:54 PM ET
PHOENIX (AP) - The Arizona Department of Corrections has discontinued the use of outdoor holding cells following the death of an inmate in triple-digit heat.
Corrections spokesman Barrett Marson said in an e-mail Tuesday that the decision came "in consultation with the governor." He didn't elaborate.
The corrections department had announced last week that it was halting use of the cells while they were retrofitted to provide shade and water.
Inmate Marcia Powell died from heat-related complications hours after she collapsed May 19. She had been in an outdoor holding cell for nearly four hours, almost twice as long as the maximum allowed under prison rules.
http://www.kswt.com/Global/story.asp?S=10467740&nav=menu613_2_6
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Prison inmate policies revised following death
by Casey Newton - Jun. 5, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
State prison officials plan to check on inmates kept in outdoor enclosures every half-hour under policy changes expected to be approved today.
Charles Ryan, director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, is revising prison policies in an effort to prevent situations such as the one that led to the death last month of inmate Marcia Powell.
Powell, 48, died after being held in 107-degree temperatures in an outdoor cage for nearly four hours. She collapsed while awaiting transfer to another cell for psychiatric observation.
After consulting with the office of Gov. Jan Brewer, Ryan eliminated the use of outdoor cages for inmates being transferred for observation. But outdoor enclosures will remain in use for some cases, including recreation for prisoners separated from the general population.
Some prisons also have shaded outdoor enclosures that hold prisoners while they await medical treatment.
Under the planned revisions, a corrections officer and a supervisor will be required to check on inmates held in outdoor enclosures every 30 minutes, recording those checks in a log.
The mandated checks are designed to ensure officers do not lose track of any prisoner being held outside temporarily.
Prison officials are still working through where they will hold inmates awaiting transfer. They had been using 233 outdoor enclosures in 10 state prisons.
About 40,000 prisoners are in the state prison system.
"We're going to make do with the space that we have inside," Ryan said.
Powell's collapse occurred at Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville in Goodyear. Ryan launched an internal-affairs inquiry and a criminal investigation into possible neglect.
A deputy warden, a captain and the lieutenant in charge of supervising Powell have been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.
Ryan said the investigation should be completed in two to three weeks. After critics argued that his department should not investigate itself, Ryan said he would refer the results to the state Department of Public Safety for an independent review.
"I absolutely want the investigation to be thorough, to be accurate and to be objective," Ryan said.
Posted by lois at June 4, 2009 05:31 PM