Ariz. inmate dies after hours in outdoor cell
An Arizona inmate who died after spending nearly four hours in the desert heat was left in an outdoor holding cell for twice as long as she should have been, the state prisons director said Wednesday.Three corrections officers have been put on paid leave while the state investigates Wednesday’s heat-related death of Marcia Powell, who was left in her unshaded cell in 103-degree heat at a prison in Goodyear.
“The death of Marcia Powell is a tragedy and a failure,” prisons director Charles Ryan said.
“The investigation will determine whether there was negligence and will tell us how to remedy our failures.”
Powell, who was serving a 27-month sentence for prostitution, was placed alone in the cell while being moved to an onsite detention unit. Ryan said officers placed Powell in the cell after a disturbance at the detention unit, but he would not elaborate on the nature of the disturbance.
