Shackled For Days and Weeks: A Federal Report Finds Widespread Abuse in Prisons Run by the Feds

One person died in federal prison after being kept in restraints for more than two days. Another was held in restraints so tight that, afterward, part of a limb had to be amputated. A third person was confined in restraints for 12 days, then 30 days, and then again for 29 days.

These abuses are outlined in a new report from the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General, which is highly critical of the federal Bureau of Prisons’ use of restraints on prisoners.

The report concludes that federal prison officials violated their own rules, shackling prisoners to beds and chairs for hours — or even days — sometimes using restraints on both wrists and ankles. Additionally, they violated a separate rule that prohibits the use of restraints as punishment.

In response to the inspector general’s findings, the bureau stated it agreed with the report’s recommendations and would revise its policies and practices moving forward.

The report follows an investigative series in recent years by The Marshall Project and NPR, which exposed abuse in federal prisons, including the overuse of restraints and shackles so tight that prisoners report scarring and permanent injury.

The OIG reviewed six years of bureau records and found thousands of instances of abuse. Those included “thousands of incidents of inmates held in restraints for 16 hours or longer, hundreds of which were held in restraints for more than 24 hours and some for over a week or weeks.” However, the investigators noted that their work was limited by inadequate record-keeping at prisons. [MORE]