This letter is written to express the concerns at Alderson Federal Prison.
I am currently serving a 26 month sentence at Alderson. During this time, I have seen several alarming incidents at Alderson Correctional facility that I would like to share:
FSA/SCA Constraints
As you may be aware, the First Step Act (FSA) regulation was written to assist Adults In Custody (AIC’s) to re-enter into their communities and relieve tax payers of the burden of funding the needless time AIC’s spend in the institutional setting that put a strain on the budget of the BOP. However, when these regulations aren’t followed, every year tax payers are left continuously financing a law that isn’t being followed and adhered to by these institutions.
A major concern is women are being held after there prerelease date and being “street released”which is a HUGE problem. Alderson staff refuses to calculate our time using the FTC (Federal Time Credit and First Step Act) FSA Projected Conditional Prerelease dates as well as FSA Conditional Dates per BOP policy. They have said they do not favor Second Chance Act and First Step Act credits and believe people should do the majority of their time in a facility.
Like many of the woman here, I have no release date and no idea when I’m returning home. Because the calculations aren’t done, we are left guessing when we can possibly return home and when we ask for a date, we are often told to wait until our next Team Meeting (and nothing is provided at that time). My next team meeting is not scheduled until late July 2024.
My conditional Pre-release FSA date is 03/25/2024 however there has been no recommendation to the RRM for halfway house placement or home confinement. The Case Managers purposely wait 60 days to submit a date causing a large percentage of the women Halfway house placement denied, Halfway house placement delayed (if we are given any halfway house time at all), or street released. Again, this causes AIC’s to be continuously housed in an institutional setting at the expense of taxpayers, when they have policies to regulate when AIC’s should be released. NO ONE KNOWS WHEN THEY ARE GOING HOME. THE WOMEN HAVE TO GUESS THE DAY THEY WILL BE RELEASED.
There is very limited programming and classes offered to lower the recidivism rate, which creates a critical backlog waitlist.
Women are losing employment, valuable time with there children, and stable housing (including myself) because we can not return home per BOP rules. Utilizing Home Confinement and Halfway House time will not only allow us to get employment and return to our communities and family, but it will also allow us to be contributors to our communities.
I have written countless letters and proven I am an excellent candidate to return home, yet little to no communication is provided regarding this matter. Despite all my efforts, taken classes, working, and remaining incident free, I haven’t been release.
Staff has refused to transfer me to a facility closer to my home despite my mother being chronically ill and cannot travel. I am over 500 driving miles and meet all necessary criteria to transfer. I have not seen her in 8 months. My Unit Manager stated, “I could only apply for a one-day furlough and there is no guarantee it will be approved”. IF THEY WOULD CALCULATE MY TIME CORRECTLY, I WOULD BE HOME ON PRE-RELEASE (My pre-release eligibility was 3/25/24).
I have submitted my Compassionate Release to the Warden along with other inquiries to the Warden who never responds. I am still waiting for a response regarding my Compassionate Release after submitting my request 50 days ago. When I attempted to speak with her regarding my medical care, she stated “TALK TO YOUR UNIT TEAM”. She is never available and uninterested in bringing positive change to the campus. The staff is rude and unapproachable. They show disrespect to the AIC’S and have shown dishonesty in the past by fabricating incident reports and discrimination.
One of the issues I’m dealing with is FRP/FSA Refusal. My counselor placed me in FRP refusal because I made a partial payment last month (first time ever being partial) when other counselors at this institution have adjusted the payments for other AIC’s. After contacting her by the 25th of the month, as stated in the handbook, she refused to adjust the payment. I MUST continue to program and work so I don’t get a refusal to work incident report (shot). I work 7 days a week, 8-9 HOURS A DAY, as the Unit Head Orderly in A4, yet I am only paid $28 a month, which does not cover my monthly payment. Like many AIC’s here, it is totally unfortunate to place someone in FRP refusal when we work and program regularly, yet cannot make the payment requested.
There are several women in RDAP that have received “ineligible” FSA status, yet based on the law itself, are indeed eligible. They have filed their remedies, which is a lengthy process, just to receive their eligibility for FSA. Unfortunately, by the time they complete this process, they will be past their release dates and not receive the benefit of the FSA’s they could’ve received prior to RDAP.
Through research and studying, I have shared laws with woman at Alderson to help start the remedy process. You have to ask for the BP forms and give a reason why the BP form is needed, and women are being refused the BP9. WE ARE BEING RETALIATED AGAINST. I have developed a manuscript to assist women in filing their remedies. It is being shared on the compound to help the process but it’s not enough. Staff downplay our concerns.The process takes months and some of these women could have been home LAST YEAR.
Almost ALL the staff is related by blood or marriage and confidentiality is not a common practice at Alderson. The staff is unprofessional and talk to inmates and staff about your problems/concerns.
Other issues I witnessed or experienced:
HEALTHCARE
The medical care is terrible. I have been denied my medication for my plaque psoriasis since I arrived I have sent in Cop-outs, written the Warden (who never responds), and attended sick call. My joint pain is so severe my body is numb at times. The peeling, cracked, or bleeding cuts on my hands are hard to manage. And the water problem and mold in the units contribute to my growing problem.
There is no follow-up treatment with medical care and a large majority of women were taken off their prescribed medication because its not administered on the compound but an increase of psychotropic meds are prescribed. They also give nighttime medication at 3:00 pm causing the women to sleep all day. My body was not like this when I arrived. I was told Consenytx was considered cosmetic and they would not administer the medication leaving me debilitated and constantly in pain.
Women have been at Alderson over a year and have not seen or offered services by a Gynecologist.
The black boots given to the women cause blisters and other feet problems as we are constantly walking all day. I cannot take them off or walk in an alternative shoe without a “soft-shoe pass” during programming hours. They are extremely painful.
BUILDING/LIVING CONDITIONS
Their equipment is outdated and the RDAP building has been without hot drinking water over 6 months. The women are punished if found accepting water from other units.
We have been without soap in my unit because the supply orders are not filled. The Units have not had a soap delivery in 5 weeks. This is unsanitary. Some units are borrowing sanitary napkins from other units due to limited supplies.
The handbook states we have escorted trips and can take Furloughs but they are NEVER granted. They favor the Christianity and Jewish religion over other religions. The Jewish community were given special meals and special commissary ordering list for their religion and that is not done for other religions during special holidays. The Muslim community received bag lunches with peanut butter and jelly for Ramadan vs. the Jewish community received microwaved meals for Passover (special permission was given to use the microwave in the employees office-no microwaves on this compound for general population use).
Our Commissary is never stocked or supplied and the majority of the items are expired or close to the expiration date.
The scheduled audits were pre-rehearsed. They painted over molded walls, and temporarily fixed repairs that require professional services, Including the HVAC system which shuts down, each time there is a storm or power outage. We have gone days without air conditioning and the ventilation is extremely poor.
Old buildings has asbestos, yet, supplies and mattresses (even the new ones) are housed there. AIC’s are told to go into these old cottages to get supplies. Our current living quarters are without mattresses for the new commits and it is up to the AIC’s to find mattresses to supply to these new commits.
The dog program takes up two empty cubicles; however, they are not USED for the women in the Dog program. They are temporarily used for the new commits that arrive when the unit is full, but they are EMPTY on a regular basis. The women reside with the dogs in a room FULLTIME.
The copy card machine does not work properly. You can only use the card one time, after purchasing for $3.90. The remainder of the money on the card cannot be used. Alderson refuses to refund the money or accommodate for the loss. This is a HUGE problem. Counselors and Case Managers do not want to make copies for inmates.
There is a concerning K-2 drug problem on the campus that employees do nothing about. I have witnessed several overdoses since my arrival. Once an AIC is stable they can return back to the unit.
There is no mental illness treatment. Women suffers from clinically diagnosed illnesses and no ongoing therapeutic treatment is provided. Many of the known cases of trauma have not been documented properly resulting in misdiagnosis or undiagnosed.
TRUST FUND/DINING
Staff Dining is supplied with fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Ice cream is only located in staff dining. The general population only gets ice cream on special occasions (extremely rare). The foods AIC’s are fed have “Best Used By” date that has expired or close to their expiration date and the serving sizes are extremely small most days.
The Commissary/Visitation
There is never enough popular items in stock to provide for the whole compound within a week. At visitation, the visitors have to sit in the visiting room for hours without food because the vending machines are usually empty. The Recreation building is fully stocked with snacks but the snacks are only given to AIC’s when they win games and tournaments. The recreation building is rarely open.
The laundry department is often times without supplies consisting of socks, underwear, various pant sizes, and bras due to extreme shortages. New commits cannot get their needs met due to shortages of toothpaste, soap, etc. when they arrive.
The employees smoke on the compound and brag that a fine is paid every year for them to smoke. They are seen smoking right outside HSU where many of the women wait in the pill line (daily) and some of the women suffer from smoke related illnesses; inhaling second hand smoke. It also causes triggers/cravings for the women who use to smoke or can not smoke because they are at Alderson.
“Incarcerated Americans should not fear death when they enter our Federal Prison System”, says McBath. “Our Federal prisons must serve as institutions that rehabilitate and prepare Americans for reentry into society, and that cannot happen without putting meaning accountability measures in place.”
I understand I am, along with many other women, are here because we made mistakes. However, the gross treatment and lack of services on this campus are unwarranted and need to be investigated.
It is extremely defeating when we are told we are wasting our time with the BOP remedy process and the reason we are fighting to receive what is available to us is because we are bored and trying to create new laws to get out of prison. That is far from the truth and it shows the lack of accountability and compassion this staff has exhibited.
As I stated above, it is at the taxpayer’s expense that Alderson chooses not to follow the law mandated by Congress. This lack of accountability has a reciprocal affect to our many communities.
I ask that if you don’t think you can directly make a contribution to a resolution on these matters, PLEASE forward this to those you know who may be able to assist in cultivating a better environment for not just the women located at this facility but for the communities they represent.
Thank you
La’Tonya Richardson Brown
