Tracie G. Otero
Tracie G. Otero and her brother, Joseph Vindiola, obtained from KJZZ.
Tracie G. Otero tragically passed away on September 22, 2020, at 47 years old in Arizona State Prison Facility in Perryville, Arizona. She was found unresponsive in her cell block and later pronounced deceased from suicide by hanging.
For months leading up to her death, Tracie complained of intense physical pain — ultimately, it was left untreated. In May of 2020, Tracie requested medical attention, writing to the prison medical staff, “my whole left arm is numb and painful and both hands are swollen I feel like it’s burning really bad. This pain is keeping me up all night.” The nurse practitioner assigned to the facility couldn’t diagnose Tracie but refused to get a second opinion. By July, Tracie was still in pain: “even the hairs on my head hurt, or when my clothes touch my body. This is horrifying pain.” Tracie begged for an appointment with a medical doctor but was repeatedly denied.
Desperate for medical treatment, Tracie reached out to people outside the prison. On August 13, Tracie reached out to Jimmy Jenkins of KJZZ, a public radio station based in Phoenix. Disgusted by the prison’s neglect, Jenkins forwarded the letter to attorneys at the Prison Law Office, who represent people incarcerated in healthcare lawsuits in Arizona. The Prison Law Office then reached out to Tracie but received no response. This came as no surprise, however, as the firm has “historically had problems with mail getting in and out of Perryville.”
A line from Tracie’s letter to Jimmy Jenkins, obtained from KJZZ.
Tracie also sent a heartbreaking letter to her mother describing her intense pain: “I’m ready to hang myself and I am not joking I’m in severe pain. I feel like someone poured gasoline all over my body. I have pinching and burning every inch of my body like needles are poking me all over and burning literally. Mom I can’t live like this.”
On September 12, Tracie wrote to medical staff, “It’s going on two wks. now that I have been waiting to see the provider… I can no longer take this pain.” Ten days later, she was found hanged in her cell block.
A line from Tracie’s letter to her mother, obtained from KJZZ.
Tracie’s brother, pictured above, wrote to Jimmy Jenkins, “We are entirely heartbroken. This is an atrocity. A needless death occurred because of their lack of care and concern for this human being.” The family plans to pursue a lawsuit against the Arizona DOC for its inexcusable neglect of Tracie’s medical needs. As stated by Tracie’s daughter, Farrah Otero, “I just can't imagine the kind of pain she must have been in to take her own life.”
Tracie isn’t the only person incarcerated at ASPC Perryville to experience medical neglect resulting in suicide. In July of 2019, an undisclosed woman with a history of self harm reached out for medical help while experiencing severe mental health issues related to a recent loss. A medical official responded with the suggestion that she try “coping skills such as utilizing rubber bands and ice cubes.” She was found deceased by suicide soon after.
Tracie’s death highlights the disgusting neglect of medical assistance to those incarcerated. Tracie repeatedly stated the pain was bad enough to cause her to end her life. She begged the Arizona DOC, local news stations, and her own family for help. The signs Tracie expressed leading up to her suicide, as well as the Arizona DOC’s blatant disregard for her and other incarcerated people’s medical needs, is infuriating and heartbreaking. We stand with Tracie’s family and community in condemning the Arizona DOC’s broken healthcare system. We mourn Tracie and other lives unnecessarily lost to the prison system.
This memorial was written by MOL team member Maggie Schnyer with information from reporting by Jimmy Jenkins of KJZZ and a death report by the Arizona DOC.
To read Tracie’s full letters to reporters and her mother, please follow this link.
Messages and Memories
My beautiful niece has been gone 2 yrs now and it seems like it was just yesterday. Keep Resting in Peace my Tracie I miss you so much. I’m so sorry I didn’t get to tell you goodbye and that really hurts me so much. I love u my beautiful niece till we meet again.
Love, Aunt
Julie