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I got a call tonight from a constituent whose son is in federal prison
He explained that he hasn’t heard from his son in several days (which is unusual for him), that his son suffers from multiple, potentially life-threatening health conditions that are going untreated in prison, and that he needed to know whether his son was still alive
He sent me the main switchboard number for the prison in question (which is on the east coast), and I called the number
Someone answered almost immediately
I explained who I was and why I was calling, and in particular that I needed to know whether this particular inmate was alive and well
The guy scolded me three times for calling “too f***ing late” and refused to tell me anything
Only when I persisted did he agree to check his records to confirm that the inmate in question was alive and well
After checking a list briefly, he came back to the phone and said “he’s here, and he’s alive and receiving the treatment he needs”
(His parents assure me that that’s simply not true)
I asked politely if someone could leave the inmate a message asking him to call his parents in the morning
He said, “it’s too late”
I responded, “I don’t mean now, I mean in the morning”
He scolded me again for calling too late, and then told me I’d have to call tomorrow and track down the inmate’s counselor
I asked him if he could relay the note to the counselor for me
He scolded me again for calling too late and asked me to call back tomorrow to track down the inmate’s counselor
I asked for the guy’s name
He refused to answer
I asked for his name again
He hung up on me
That’s not okay
Sadly, this is not the first time I’ve had this experience when talking to people from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on behalf of constituents with an incarcerated family member suffering from a severe medical condition
And each occasion, I’ve been treated at best with dismissiveness and at worst with contempt and profanity
Has anyone else experienced this with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons?
English
