The 'Friends of Marcia Powell' are autonomous groups and individuals engaging in prisoner outreach, informal advocacy, and organized protest and direct actions in a sustained campaign to: promote prisoner rights and welfare in America; engage the Arizona public in a creative and thoughtful critique of our system of "justice;” deconstruct the prison industrial complex; and dismantle this racist, classist patriarchy...

Retiring "Free Marcia Powell"

As of December 2, 2010 (with occasional exceptions) I'm retiring this blog to direct more of my time and energy into prisoner rights and my other blogs; I just can't do anyone justice when spread so thin. I'll keep the site open so folks can search the archives and use the links, but won't be updating it with new posts. If you're looking for the latest, try Arizona Prison Watch. Most of the pieces posted here were cross-posted to one or both of those sites already.

Thanks for visiting. Peace out - Peg.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Lesson not Learned

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Came across an article in the July 2002 Legal Eye Newsletter for the Nursing Profession about a Michigan psychiatric patient who died of heat stroke a few years back. In Terrance v. Northville Regional Psychiatric Hospital, "nursing care was so substandard that it went beyond negligence", meeting the standard for "deliberate indifference to serious medical needs", which violated the patient's 8th and 14th amendment constitutional rights. The head nurse got the blame, but there were systemic, structural things in place (and out of place) that contributed to this man's early demise. I've been to Northville; sadly this is no surprise.

In their ruling on the case the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said: "Nurses caring for psychiatric patients should know that excessive heat can cause serious medical complications for patients on psychotropic medications like Haldol, Cogentin, and Lithium...close, competent, and vigilant nursing observation of these patients is always essential"(cited in the Legal Eye Newsletter in big, bold print). The above-mentioned meds are often used in the treatment of manic depression, the illness Marcia was diagnosed with and apparently being treated for.

If the Perryville complex doesn't have medical staff responsible for the 24/7 monitoring of people on psychiatric medications, it should be shut down immediately.

No comments: