Last Monday (October 1st) I called FCI Hazelton to check up on my brother because I hadn’t heard from him since September 12th. I was told “he’s here.” I felt relieved. On Thursday, October 4th, I received a call that my brother had been beaten badly by the prison guards to the point they fractured his ribs. Friday morning I called the prison to find out if he could have visits and was told we could visit. We made a trip down Saturday (Oct 6th) only to be told we couldn't visit him because he's in the SHU (special housing unit) and those visits are Sundays. We returned home. The next day we made another trip down and were able to visit him. My brother told me 3 weeks ago guards came to his cell taunting him 3 times that day. They called him out of his cell and he ended up in a room, being cuffed and beaten by at least SIX GUARDS wearing helmets and shields. During the incident he blacked out and woke up chained, cuffed and left in a dry cell with a half mattress for 17 hours with NO medical assistance, even up to the day of our visit. They used a padlock to tighten the chain and something from the lock was stabbing him in his pelvic area for 17 hours! They wrapped something around his stomach/rib area very tight. He still has cuff marks on both his wrists from 3 weeks ago! He showed us the bruises and scars on his body. They bring him food/drink with pubic hairs in it whenever they do decide to bring him food. They steal his property and continuously taunt him to get a reaction, say that he is out of compliance, just so they can call this team of guards to beat on him. I also learned that this wasn’t the first time that this has happened to him. This is also happening to other inmates there as well. I asked my brother why this is happening and was told everything he is going through is because HE IS FROM DC AND BECAUSE HE IS STANDING UP FOR HIS RIGHTS. They’re treated like animals because they’re from DC! A couple years ago, my brother filed a lawsuit against FCI Hazelton because he was being harassed by the warden. He believes this is retaliation. They mock him, telling him to do whatever he’s going to do as if it doesn’t matter, nothing will happen. Had it not been for the call I received, we wouldn’t have known this incident occurred. Just a month ago someone else was beaten badly and left for 3 days, with a gash in his head, NO MEDICAL ASSISTANCE, HANDCUFFED! Someone called his family; they wouldn’t have known either. This is unacceptable. This is a call for change! 

In the 'About Us' section of the Federal Bureau of Prisons it states:
"We protect public safety by ensuring that federal offenders serve their sentences of imprisonment in facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure, and provide reentry programming to ensure their successful return to the community."

The harsh treatment many of these prisoners are dealing with isn't safe or humane. If you have the least bit of humanity within you, you'll agree........THIS MUST STOP!