Dying in Prison: Advancing End-of-Life Care, Staff Support, and Systemic Reform Through Death Cafes and Advance Care Planning in a U.S. Women’s Prison

ICPA 2025 Presentation by Tosha Big Eagle and L. Elizabeth Shatswell (PID175)

Authors

Tosha Big Eagle

Outreach Coordinator and Research Support Specialist, Washington State University, United States

Tosha Big Eagle is a justice-impacted Indigenous Ph.D. student in the Prevention Science program at Washington State University Vancouver (WSUV). She currently serves as the Outreach Coordinator and Research Support Specialist for the PRISOM Collaborative at WSU’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. Her research interests include health equity, harm reduction, mass incarceration, gender development, aging, death education, and Indigenous Ways of Knowing. Tosha earned her undergraduate degree in human development, psychology, and addiction studies from WSUV in 2022. Her academic focus is grounded in lived experience, including overcoming childhood trauma, addiction, mental health challenges, and incarceration.

She has the honor of collaborating with the HOPE Team, a grassroots health initiative at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. Together, they are developing an intergenerational elder care program for aging women in prison. This work includes training correctional staff and peer caregivers to facilitate Death Cafes and advocate for equity in end-of-life care within carceral systems. Through all her efforts, Tosha is committed to community-based, culturally grounded research that advances justice, healing, and systems change. Beyond her academic and professional life, her most important role is being a mother to two beautiful children, ages 7 and 3, and a wife to her husband and partner.

L. Elizabeth Shatswell

Academic Partner and Project Manager, University of Puget Sound, United States

L. Elizabeth Shatswell is the Co-Founder of the HOPE team, an intergenerational healthcare initiative at the Washington Correctional Center for Women, and a consultant with the University of Washington – Vancouver, on the ongoing Caged Death project. Additionally, she is the Correctional Education Manager with JSTOR Labs, ITHAKA. She is also an active Academic Partner and Project Manager at the University of Puget Sound, where her research focuses on education and healthcare. She strongly advocates for storytelling's transformative power and believes community is created through the sharing of our collective tales. She regularly volunteers with the Campaign for Fair Youth Sentencing to shed light on the impact of juvenile life sentences.

Elizabeth is a justice-impacted individual, an alumnus of the Freedom Education Project Puget Sound (FEPPS), the Sunshine Lady Foundation, and the University of Puget Sound. She holds three associate degrees, one each in Education, Liberal Arts, and Business Administration, as well as a Bachelor of Science concentration on Religion and Bioethics. Additionally, she is a certified Braille Transcriptionist and Yoga Instructor. She plans to pursue a dual MBA/MPH graduate program in the coming year.

This resource is restricted to a higher membership level - please log in or upgrade your membership level to continue