Pubdate: Wed, 24 May 2000
Source: Arizona Republic (AZ)
Copyright: 2000 The Arizona Republic
Contact:  200 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix, AZ 85004
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/news/
Forum: http://www.azcentral.com/pni-bin/WebX?azc
Author: Mike McCloy

HEALTH COSTS EARN INMATE TICKET HOME

A woman born without arms or legs but convicted of dealing marijuana was
sent home to Kingman on Tuesday because it costs taxpayers too much to keep
her in prison, officials said.

Deborah Lynn Quinn, 39, pleaded guilty in October to selling about four
grams of marijuana to a police informant for $20. A probation officer later
found four ounces of marijuana in her home, and Quinn was sent to prison
Feb. 8 to serve 18 months.

Quinn depends on others for virtually all her physical needs. She was kept
in a mostly-male detention unit at St. Mary's Hospital in Tucson at a cost
of $461 a day, compared with the $52 daily average for the state's 26,000
inmates, state corrections director Terry Stewart said.

"It would be inappropriate for her to be cared for in this environment until
her release date," Stewart said.

Donna Hamm, head of the Middle Ground prison reform group in Tempe, said
many other inmates should be considered for medical furlough.

"There are plenty of people on kidney dialysis three and four times a week,"
Hamm said. "One inmate has cranial injuries so severe that he has an open
hole in his skull."

Stewart said dialysis and care for other serious ailments is readily
available in state prisons. Twenty men with needs similar to Quinn's are
housed in a special unit at the prison in Florence.

"If we had a unit like that for women, Deborah Lynn Quinn would have been in
that unit," Stewart said. "We use our own medical personnel there, and other
inmates can help with the care."

Medical condition and state laws forbidding release of violent offenders are
considered when prison furloughs are requested.

While Quinn lives at home and attends drug counseling, Mohave County
sheriff's deputies will supervise her closely -- taking urine samples and
visiting without notice, Stewart said.

Deputy Mohave County Attorney Jace Zack said Quinn, who isn't violent, was
sent to prison only as a last resort.

"She wouldn't comply with probation," Zack said. "You can't reward her."

Stewart said Quinn could return to prison if she violates conditions of her
release.
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