Justice Demands that Prison Populations Drop and the Quality of Medical
Care Increase
By Derek Gilna
The Justice
Department’s Inspector General recently stated what we already know: the BOP ,
due largely to overcrowding stemming from over-sentencing, is in serious crisis. Although his report dwells on the “safety and
security” factors related to that overcrowding, I prefer to focus on the human
suffering and death causes by the BOP under
funding or in some cases just ignoring the serious issues it faces in health
care and mental health treatment.
“From …
2009 to…2013, the population of sentence inmates 50 and over (who generally
require more medical care than younger inmates) has increased 25 percent…the BOP
spent more than $1 billion on prisoner health care
in 2013?” That figure of a billion
dollars will come as a great surprise to BOP
prisoners with significant medical and mental health issues that are not being
addressed. (I would like to have the
contract for supplying the BOP with
Tylenol-the go-to drug for every malady, including internal bleeding and heart
attack, according to the BOP medical staff).
That’s why
I have made it my mission to seek justice for the prisoners and their families
caught in the web of deception that constitutes BOP
medical care. Too many prisoners die of
unnecessarily in federal custody for lack of prompt medical attention. Too many prisoners suffer from untreated
mental health issues that could be treated while they are in custody, and lead
to a more successful reentry into society.
Not all of
these problems are completely the fault of the BOP ;
Congress, the Justice Department, and the Courts all share part of the
blame. Only recently have some
officeholders, such as Attorney General Holder, stepped forward to try to
correct some of these problems that often mean that a sentence to BOP
imprisonment is a de-facto death penalty.
The tens of thousands of ill federal prisoners and their families demand
justice, either Civil Rights actions or Compassionate Release. The good news is that you do not have to face
this challenge alone. It is time to take
action, before it is too late and before you are too ill or infirm to
care. Contact your families and tell them
the truth about BOP medical care.
Derek Gilna (847) 878-0160
113 McHenry #173
