Ariz.
The Arizona Department of Corrections has halted the practice of holding
Powell's death has led to the suspension of three prison officials and a criminal investigation into their conduct.
Prison officials did not have an estimate of the cost of retrofitting the structures or how long it would take to complete construction.
Powell, who had a history of mental illness, was scheduled to be transferred to a psychiatric unit May 19 for observation. While she waited to be transferred, she was placed in an outdoor chain-link holding cell.
Although prisoners in the cage are in plain view of a staffed control room, guidelines call for them to be confined outdoors for no more than two hours. Powell had been in the cell for almost twice that long when she collapsed.
She was taken to
The Maricopa County Public Fiduciary, which has served as Powell's guardian since July 2008, is trying to find Powell's next of kin.
"There are a couple of things they are working on as we speak," said Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Gary Strickland, who represents the fiduciary's office. "In terms of what quality the leads are, that is hard to say. But they do have a couple of possibilities that they are working on. They want to do a thorough search."
In the meantime, the fiduciary intervened to prevent Powell's burial before a next of kin can be found.
Middle Ground, a prison-reform group, is organizing a public memorial service for Powell at noon today at
Republic writer E.J. Montini contributed to this article.
