Employees Disciplined in Inmate Death Case

Sixteen Arizona corrections employees have been fired, suspended or otherwise disciplined for their role in the death of an inmate left in an outdoor holding cell for four hours in triple-digit heat.

Three of those disciplined were fired, two stepped down in place of being fired, 10 received suspensions ranging from 40 to 80 hours, and one was demoted. Two others will be disciplined after they return from medical leave.

Arizona Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan announced the moves Tuesday, calling the death "the most significant example of abuse" of an inmate that he's aware of within the department.

Marcia Powell, 48, died from heat-related complications hours after she collapsed May 19 in an uncovered outdoor cell. She had been in the cell for nearly four hours, despite a policy that set a two-hour limit.

Powell had first- and second-degree burns on her face and body and a core body temperature of 108 degrees, an autopsy report said.

"That is an absolute failure," Ryan said Tuesday. "The inmate should not have been left in the enclosure that length of time."

Ryan declined to provide the names of the corrections employees who were disciplined, saying it would be inappropriate considering they have the right to appeal their punishments.

Powell was serving a 27-month sentence for prostitution.