{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}ATLANTA — Hearings investigating alleged corruption, abuse and misconduct in an Atlanta federal prison kicked off July 26, led by Georgia U.S Senator Jon Ossoff.{span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}Ossoff, chair of the bipartisan U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which investigated the allegations over a 10-months, said internal Federal Bureau of Prisons documents show nearly 10 years of issues at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta.{span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}“The facility was extremely dangerous and insecure. Vast quantities of contraband, including weapons and narcotics, flowed through the prison, enabled by corrupt staff,” Ossoff said. “Conditions for inmates were abusive and inhumane, and should concern all of us who believe in our country’s constitutional traditions — that all people have an Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment and a Sixth Amendment right to counsel.”{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}The federal prison administration’s failures likely contributed to the loss of life, jeopardized the health and safety of inmates and staff, and undermined inmates’ civil rights, Ossoff said.{span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}Erika Ramirez, a former chief psychologist for USP Atlanta employee of 15 years, described the ease of contraband entering the prison, making it difficult to treat inmates’ mental health issues.{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}In addition to the “flagrant sea off contraband,” elevators were inoperable for months at a time, walls were infested with mold, and there were occasional sewer line breaks in the facility.{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}“For instance, I confiscated a microwave that I found while searching an inmate cell. Two days later, I found the same microwave in another cell, the same serial number,” Ramirez said.{span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}She continued: “In the roughly four years, eight inmates at USP Atlanta died by suicide prior to my arrival and six [died] during my tenure. To put this into perspective, federal prisons typically see between one and three suicides over a five-year period. and a loss of life is tragic and unacceptable, which is why it’s particularly devastating to see such disregard for human life at USP Atlanta.”{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}Reports have revealed that many of the inmates that died by suicide were on drugs at the time, according to Ossoff.{span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}Reports of missing staff weapons, rape and sexual abuse of female inmates, and physical fights among staff were also discussed during the hearing. Drug detection machines not being activated at entrances and staff pat downs not being performed were also included in reports on the facility.{span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}More than 140 out of 263 cameras were found to be inoperable or out of service, according to a committee member. {span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}“At USP Atlanta, ‘the Atlanta Way’ is where staff are not held accountable for misconduct. Inmates are not challenged for negative behavior, and regular maintenance and routine repairs are non-existent,” said Terri Whitehead, a former jail administrator at USPA.{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}“Staff members are actually involved in physical fights at work, cases are [not investigated] and our staff subsequently promoted within,” Whitehead continued. “Marijuana is routinely smelled inside the prison, but there are no searches to determine which inmates are smoking. Inmates are observed in zombie states and nothing is done in an effort to determine the source of the illegal substances.”{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}Rebecca Shepard, a staff attorney for the Federal Defender Program in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, said clients often discuss with her inhumane and unsafe conditions at the facility. The staff has also limited inmate access to their attorney, she said.{span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}“The result is deplorable and punitive conditions which courts defenders and our clients have observed for decades USP Atlanta’s practices and policies do not allow us to fulfill our constitutional and ethical obligations of zealous advocacy,” she said.{span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}Michael Carvajal, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which has 121 facilities, said the conditions in Atlanta were “unacceptable” and he took action in 2021. He placed the blame on lower-level leaders and management that have more direct oversight of issues.{span class=”s1”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}“It was obvious that it did not reach my level and that is why we took the action that we took. There is a delineation of authority, and these are senior executive service people at the highest level, who have that responsibility. We have very good policy when they’re following. The breakdown here is that people consciously chose not to follow the policy. Not always in those cases where it was a training issue. That’s why we focused on training. It is our responsibility to make sure the staff knows these policies and train them. It is ultimately the responsibility of every individual to follow those policies. and when people don’t report misconduct, we have processes for all these things, and they all work very well.{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}Last year, Carvajal said he terminated several prison personnel to address the issues. He fired the captain, warden, associate wardens and the entire management team.{span class=”Apple-converted-space”} {/span}{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}“The issue, the breakdown that happened here, which was completely unacceptable was the cultural issue there of line staff not being held accountable. A failure to follow policy is unacceptable,” he said. “We have to have leaders and managers that enforce and hold people accountable. That’s why we made the decision to remove the team because they were obviously not holding line staff who do the job accountable.”{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}Ossoff argued, however, that Carvajal was repeatedly copied on reports of suicides and issues at the Atlanta facility previous to 2021; Carvajal was appointed to the director role in February 2020 after serving as assistant director for the Correctional Programs Division since August 2018.{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}“Other people deal with that” and “I got the report but I don’t remember” are unacceptable, Ossoff said in response to Carvajal’s testimony. He hoped that change in the prison system would come to the federal prison system following Carvajal’s retirement, which is slated for next month.{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}“This is clearly a diseased bureaucracy. “There has to be change in the Bureau of Prisons and it has to happen right now.”{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}At the state level, Georgia prisons have also been under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice since September.{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}More than 40 suspected or confirmed homicides had been reported in Georgia state prisons since early 2020.{/span}{p class=”p1”}{span class=”s1”}The investigation is looking into whether Georgia’s 35 Georgia Department of Corrections facilities provide prisoners reasonable protection from physical harm at the hands of other prisoners, and will continue its existing investigation into whether Georgia provides lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex prisoners reasonable protection from sexual abuse by other prisoners and by staff.{/span}