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Last month, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was urged to remove combination locks from all cells of USP Hazelton, West Virginia Prison where the famous Boston gangster, James "Whitey" Bulger, was reportedly killed by two other detainees holding a padlock in a sock.
The CC Corrections Information Council, an independent agency based in Washington, DC, visited USP Hazelton in October, after a Washington resident was stabbed to death in prison on Sept. 17. Five months ago, another Washington man was also killed. killed in the same prison.
Washington has no jail and sends sentenced inmates to Hazelton and other federal institutions.
In a letter dated October 22 addressed to the acting head of the Bureau of Prisons, the committee stated that Washington detainees had told them that prison administrators had to remove combination locks from all over the place. 39 establishment to make the environment safer.
"Several inmates also mentioned that loose padlocks used to secure foot lockers in cells are commonly used as weapons, often placed in a sock and swung to the head or body of another individual," wrote the Commission.
According to publications on the USP Hazelton website, combination locks are considered a "controlled item" and can be purchased at the Prison Station for $ 6.50.
The council has invited the Prisons Office to install foot locks with integrated locks.
"The use of loose padlocks as weapons on the units is an obvious safety problem that could be solved by providing foot locks with integrated locks," said the council. "This is just one of the remedies / improvements recommended by CIC to increase security while preserving the safety of people's property."
Bulger, an infamous criminal in South Boston and an FBI informant serving a life sentence for 11 murders, was beaten to death in his cell on Tuesday, allegedly beaten by two Massachusetts men linked to organized crime in the United States. State, reported the Globe.
Paul J. DeCologero, a member of a notorious criminal group known on the North Shore, whose members stole rival drug traffickers and dismembered a teenager whom they feared she implied with a lock embedded in a sock, the Globe reported.
No one has been charged with the death of Bulger, 89 years old. William J. Powell, a lawyer from northwestern Virginia, and the FBI are conducting an investigation.
It was unclear whether the Bureau of Prisons management had responded to the request of the Washington Commission.
Prison Office officials declined to comment on Friday, citing ongoing investigations into Bulger's death.
In addition, USP Hazelton officials have admitted to having 36 vacancies of correctional officers in the institution, the union saying the numbers are dangerously low.
In an e-mail, the Bureau of Prisons also acknowledged that USP Hazelton's non-correctional officers – and his facilities across the country – were often called upon to put aside their usual professional duties and to re-enforce their duties. perform correctional officer duties. Civilian personnel from all prisons are trained to intervene when needed, the office said.
Following the murder of Bulger, the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that he was conducting his own investigation. However, he did not specify whether he was going to inquire as to why Bulger ended up in the general population 11 hours after arriving at the prison, or whether he was going to find out why Bulger found himself in the same unit that two organized crime personalities probably familiar with his career.
The office "sent a team of subject matter experts to the complex to assess operational activities and correctional security practices, as well as measures to determine the facts that may have contributed to the incident," the report said. communicated. "The team will make recommendations to senior BOP officials to help mitigate identified risks."
Union leaders representing prison workers, as well as federal legislators and an independent watchdog, blamed the prison for non-correctional officers.
The agency said it had worked to increase recruitment efforts in its prison, while reducing costs, and hoped to fill 21 of the 36 vacancies in West Virginia prison as soon as possible. He did not say when that would happen.
The agency said the staffing levels of the West Virginia complex corresponded to those of its prisons nationwide.
He stated that the rate of aggravated assault between inmates had decreased nationally. Bulger's death marks the third murder of USP Hazelton this year.
On the USP Hazelton website, the Bureau of Prisons indicated that the visits had been interrupted.
"All visits to this facility have been suspended until further notice," reads the statement. No reason has been given.
The visit is also suspended at FCI Hazelton, an adjacent medium security prison of 2,000 inmates, which includes a secure women's prison.
Matt Rocheleau can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @mrochele. John R. Ellement can be contacted [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.
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