on a grimmer note, yet another wrongful death in custody (Susan Lopez in Arizona)

Peggy Plews reports yet another preventable death in the Arizona prison system: http://www.prisonabolitionist.org/2011/04/wrongful-deaths-in-custody-sus... from her post:
Susan was a mother of four children, and was apparently a Certified Nurses' Aide. By the number of people landing on my site Googling her this week, I'd say she was probably well-loved by people in her community, even though she was ignored by her caretakers in prison, where she was sent for non-violent crimes. Her history suggests that her criminal activity may have been related to the disease of addiction...

...Unfortunately, the nightmare that unfolded for Susan immediately prior to her suicide seems to be the standard MO at the Arizona Department of Corrections, though I've had some good experiences with at least one CO at ASPC-Tucson, and I know there are other exceptions - like former ASPC-Eyman DW Carl Toersbijns. It's not the individual CO's so much anyway - it's the staffing schedules, inadequate training, and an abusive institutional culture that results in deaths like Marcia Powell's, Brenda Todd's, and Susan's. There isn't the expectation that officers respond with compassion to prisoners, of course - they're all just criminals trying to manipulate them because that's what they do best.

You can read her full post at the link above. Her ending bears reiteration:

Anyone can contact the US Department of Justice to complain about all the prison suicides under Brewer, by the way. Ask for a CRIPA Investigation into the AZ Department of Corrections.

The address is:
Jonathan Smith, Chief
US DOJ Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section
950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, PHB
Washington, DC 20530