Feds Have Billions—But Sick and Elderly Women at Carswell Are Left Hungry and Forgotten
Four slices of bread, a slice of cheese, some peanut butter, and powdered fruit drink sounds like the dream lunch for a six-year-old, but in fact it is the Friday menu at the Federal Medical Center at Carswell. This prison houses elderly and ill women incarcerated in the Bureau of Prisons who suffer from cancer, heart disease, paralysis, dementia, and many other serious ailments. Two weeks ago, the leadership at FMC Carswell announced that all Fridays would be run on a holiday schedule, meaning lockdowns and bagged meals: bread, peanut butter, and a slice of cheese. Some women received food well past its “use by” date, further reducing these meager rations.
On the same day that this new policy went into force, the staff had a barbecue using union funds. They also disabled the print function on the notice announcing the change so that the women could not send proof to family, friends, and lawyers. Finally, eggs were removed from the menu completely.
Despite the attempted cover-up, word got out. The National Council and others raised the alarm with the BOP Central Office. Carswell management backed down a bit, restoring one hot meal on Fridays.
The BOP states that the reason for the cutback was that the food budget has been reduced to dangerously low levels. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has an $8.3 billion budget, raising the question of where that money is being spent. It is, of course, one of the oldest bureaucratic tricks: cutting funding for necessities to force Congress to provide supplementary funds rather than giving up occupational amenities. However, if that ploy doesn’t work, then budget reallocation will have to happen. The BOP has for years complained about budget shortfalls, claiming it can’t fix its crumbling physical plant, can’t compete in the job market due to low wages, and lacks funding for programming, among other issues. That raises the question of what the BOP can afford. Where is that 8.3 billion going if not to food, building maintenance, and a living wage for staff?
The Trump Administration attempted to “save” money by cutting halfway house time from a year to two months, only to realize that it is actually cheaper to house someone in a reentry center. But the solution to this problem is simple: send people home. Other than pure vindictiveness, no reason exists to keep the elderly, the seriously ill, and long-timers locked up, especially if all they have to eat is bread and peanut butter. Study after study has shown that the chance of recidivism declines with age; people in wheelchairs or with dementia are not going to go on crime sprees. Basic math says that reducing the population of the BOP will provide more money to benefit incarcerated folks and create reasonable workloads for staff. The BOP is reportedly spending millions of dollars on a contract with Accenture to develop a staff recruitment campaign. The National Council’s money-saving solution is available at no cost. How about it, BOP?
