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1/ Last week, I spoke with Mendy Forbes, who is serving time at FMC Carswell, a medical prison in Fort Worth. This weekend, her father told me she was put in solitary for talking with me about conditions inside the prison. https://www.keranews.org/post/were-all-really-scared-life-federal-lockup-remains-uncertain-during-covid-19-outbreak
2/ "She’s really scared for her life, and scared for the other people she’s in there with,” her dad told me. "I don’t see why she’s being punished for trying to help herself and other people.”
She wasn't trying to make the prison look bad, her dad said. Just wants to be safe.
She wasn't trying to make the prison look bad, her dad said. Just wants to be safe.
3/ So far, 919 people have been released from federal prisons to home confinement in response to coronavirus.
352 prisoners & 189 federal Bureau of Prisons staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
352 prisoners & 189 federal Bureau of Prisons staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
4/There are approx. 145,000 people in BOP custody. Another ~29,000 federal prisoners are in private and other facilities.
There are 10,000 who are over 60, and 60% of them were convicted of nonviolent and non-sexual offenses, according to @TheJusticeDept head Bill Barr.
There are 10,000 who are over 60, and 60% of them were convicted of nonviolent and non-sexual offenses, according to @TheJusticeDept head Bill Barr.
4/ At FMC Carswell, many of the 1,600 women housed there are elderly, pregnant or have chronic conditions that make them esp vulnerable. The FMC stands for Federal Medical Center.
Two have tested positive for coronavirus, but folks inside worry there are more, undetected cases
Two have tested positive for coronavirus, but folks inside worry there are more, undetected cases
5/ Forbes told me many are like her: 1st-timers in for nonviolent crimes. “They are not bad people. But if we leave them here in this Petri dish, there’s a possibility they could all die, and they did not get life sentences”
6/ I hope Mendy is okay.
I've looked through the federal inmate handbook and see no rule that bars people inside from talking to reporters.
The prison warden hasn't responded to any requests for comment.
I've looked through the federal inmate handbook and see no rule that bars people inside from talking to reporters.
The prison warden hasn't responded to any requests for comment.
