Retiring Arizona Prison Watch...


This site was originally started in July 2009 as an independent endeavor to monitor conditions in Arizona's criminal justice system, as well as offer some critical analysis of the prison industrial complex from a prison abolitionist/anarchist's perspective. It was begun in the aftermath of the death of Marcia Powell, a 48 year old AZ state prisoner who was left in an outdoor cage in the desert sun for over four hours while on a 10-minute suicide watch. That was at ASPC-Perryville, in Goodyear, AZ, in May 2009.

Marcia, a seriously mentally ill woman with a meth habit sentenced to the minimum mandatory 27 months in prison for prostitution was already deemed by society as disposable. She was therefore easily ignored by numerous prison officers as she pleaded for water and relief from the sun for four hours. She was ultimately found collapsed in her own feces, with second degree burns on her body, her organs failing, and her body exceeding the 108 degrees the thermometer would record. 16 officers and staff were disciplined for her death, but no one was ever prosecuted for her homicide. Her story is here.

Marcia's death and this blog compelled me to work for the next 5 1/2 years to document and challenge the prison industrial complex in AZ, most specifically as manifested in the Arizona Department of Corrections. I corresponded with over 1,000 prisoners in that time, as well as many of their loved ones, offering all what resources I could find for fighting the AZ DOC themselves - most regarding their health or matters of personal safety.

I also began to work with the survivors of prison violence, as I often heard from the loved ones of the dead, and learned their stories. During that time I memorialized the Ghosts of Jan Brewer - state prisoners under her regime who were lost to neglect, suicide or violence - across the city's sidewalks in large chalk murals. Some of that art is here.

In November 2014 I left Phoenix abruptly to care for my family. By early 2015 I was no longer keeping up this blog site, save occasional posts about a young prisoner in solitary confinement in Arpaio's jail, Jessie B.

I'm deeply grateful to the prisoners who educated, confided in, and encouraged me throughout the years I did this work. My life has been made all the more rich and meaningful by their engagement.

I've linked to some posts about advocating for state prisoner health and safety to the right, as well as other resources for families and friends. If you are in need of additional assistance fighting the prison industrial complex in Arizona - or if you care to offer some aid to the cause - please contact the Phoenix Anarchist Black Cross at PO Box 7241 / Tempe, AZ 85281. collective@phoenixabc.org

until all are free -

MARGARET J PLEWS (June 1, 2015)
arizonaprisonwatch@gmail.com



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Monday, January 18, 2010

Prisoner Solidarity: Urgent Call-in for Jamie Scott.

These women were thrown away fifteen years ago - for life. They don't mean anything to the state. They're worth a lot to their families, though - and could probably do a lot of good for the rest of us educating others about wrongful convictions, racism, and harsh sentencing practices.

I've posted about the Scott Sisters before - here's a link to a brief article in Huffington about them. Please take a minute and call the folks in Mississippi - you'll probably just get a voice mailbox, as I did. Leave your message anyway - they'll be counting them up. 

I've been in touch with this prison before, and they respond, but not with anything meaningful - just PR stuff.  Let Mississippi know you want Jamie to get the best medical care there is, immediately, and that her sister should be allowed to be by her side. Go for Epps - confront him on the BS about the excess cost of Gladys providing the kidney.

Here's the link to an article in the SF Bay View about Jamie's son and his efforts to liberate them both.

We have got to figure out a way to get all these people free from prison.

After you do your part, hit their blogspot or facebook page and leave a message, or send their mom, Mrs. Rascoe, a quick email letting her know what you did (rqueenbee2222@yahoo.com). It matters to her spirit, too, to know that people out here are responding to their calls for help. They need us to come through for them, and it really doesn't take much.



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Subject: 1/18/10 EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT! ~ Jamie Is In Need of Immediate Medical Attention

1/18/10 EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT!


Mrs. Rasco just received a phone call from Gladys Scott that both of Jamie Scott's kidneys have shut down and that she has been in the prison infirmary since last Saturday hooked up to IV fluids with a heavy build-up of toxins in her body.  Jamie has yet to be sent to a hospital due to "paperwork."  Jamie pleaded that Gladys not contact their mother because she didn't want to burden her with anymore worry on top of caring for all of the children.

Gladys has offered to donate a kidney to Jamie and was told that she cannot because she is a state prisoner
and that it would be too expensive.  The greatest heartbreak of all is that Jamie has asked to be allowed
to die because she wants to come home so badly and no longer believes that it will ever happen.

JAMIE SCOTT, #19197, MUST BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY!  Her physical and mental state require the highest levels of professional care.

Margaret Bingham, Superintendent of Central Mississippi Corrections Facility
(601) 932-2880
mbingham@mdoc.http://www.facebook.com/l/cc872;state.ms.us
FAX: (601) 664-0782
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, Mississippi 39208

Christopher Epps, Commissioner of Prisons for the State of Mississippi
601-359-5600
CEPPS@mdoc.http://www.facebook.com/l/cc872;state.ms.us
723 North President Street
Jackson, MS  39202


Emmitt Sparkman, Deputy Commissioner
(601) 359-5610
esparkman@mdoc.http://www.facebook.com/l/cc872;state.ms.us

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