I hope that the BOP loses......................



When Jack Powers arrived at maximum-security federal prison in Atlanta in 1990 after a bank robbery conviction, he had never displayed symptoms of or been treated for mental illness. Still in custody a few years later, he witnessed three inmates, believed to be members of the Aryan Brotherhood gang, kill another inmate. Powers tried to help the victim get medical attention, and was quickly transferred to a segregated unit for his safety, but it didn't stop the gang's members from quickly threatening him.

Not then. And certainly not after Powers testified (not once but twice) for the federal government against the assailants. The threats against him continued and Powers was soon transferred to a federal prison in Pennsylvania, where he was threatened even after he was put into protective custody. By this time, Powers had developed insomnia and anxiety attacks and was diagnosed by a prison psychologist as suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

National - Andrew Cohen - An American Gulag: Descending into Madness at Supermax - The Atlantic

"But Powers is not an exception"

This says it all........ mental health issues are underfunded outside of prison let alone inside. It goes under the radar, most do not want to acknowledge mental health issues and with long term segregation used as punishment, without any form of rehabilitation or mental health care, it amounts to compounding the issue further as you read in the news article here.

I too think it is about time BOP is held accountable for the irreversible damage done.

That article is shocking.

Well, it's of particular interest to me because my pal is there...... I read the actual 108 page complaint that the attorneys filed (it is linked in the article) and it's really horrible. Sometimes he has said things like "you wouldn't believe what goes on here" but has never really gone into much detail in the almost two years we've been writing.

For the past couple of days since I've read it, I've been pondering how my pal manages to keep it all together. So many jokes, nice letters, pretty drawings, and he lives there?

I never read all of that but what I did read was terrible...its amazing how these guys get through it all.

Wow!! I am .... wow! That is ... I'm speechless!

"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." If what Dostojevski wrote is true, then...

How can the authorities let this happen?????

I cant believe that in this day and age its allowed to happen...It totally got me where they dont give them the medication they need because rules are rules....why is this allowed to happen. Dont they think that it could be a better working environment if they just helped these guys get a little bit of normality in their lives?