Lots of coverage of ugly BOP mistreatment of cancer victim called out in court opinion

I finally got the chance to read in full this federal district court order from earlier this month authored by US District Judge Roy Dalton Jr., assailing the Bureau of Prisons’ treatment of Frederick Mervin Bardell, who died of colon cancer not long after it seems BOP denied he had colon cancer.  The full opinion is worth a full read, and it begins and wraps up this way:

Judges carry the heavy burden of depriving individuals of their liberty. But the Bureau of Prisons shoulders the constitutional burden of protecting the remaining rights of the incarcerated while in custody.  The possibility that the Bureau of Prisons would be so indifferent to the human dignity of an inmate in its care as the facts here demonstrate, increases the burden on the sentencing judge exponentially.  This, of course, pales in comparison to the suffering of the inmate and his family….

Though this contempt proceeding focused primarily on the circumstances surrounding Mr. Bardell’s release, the Court is also troubled by his care and treatment while confined, especially during the latter stages of his incarceration.  The Court has serious reservations about the adequacy of his treatment and diagnosis.  In light of these concerns, the Court recommends that the Attorney General (or Inspector General for the Department of Justice) undertake an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Bardell’s confinement and treatment, the failure of the BOP to respond to his medical needs, and the BOP’s misrepresentations in connection with the compassionate release briefing regarding the seriousness of his condition.

I believe Reason was the first outlet to highlight this ruling in this article headlined, “Judge Holds Federal Bureau of Prisons in Contempt for Allowing Man To Waste Away From Untreated Cancer.”  Since then, I have been intrigued to see this case garnering lots more media attention:

From the New York Times, “Judge Holds Prison Officials in Contempt for Treatment of Terminally Ill Inmate“

From Reason, “Justice Department Inspector General Launches Investigation Into Inmate Death Following Judge’s Contempt Order“

From Salon, “A federal prisoner’s gruesome and shameful mistreatment — and why it was all too typical“

From the Washington Post, “Judge blasts Bureau of Prisons’ treatment of dying prisoner“