BOP Shrugs Off Month-Long Leavenworth Lockdown
Promising a “return to normal operations status as soon as possible” at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, the federal Bureau of Prisons insisted on March 28, 2024, that the 1,837 prisoners held there still have access to food, water and medical care since “modified operations” began four weeks earlier.
The lockdown began on March 1, 2024, after guards found evidence that a gun—what BOP calls “hard contraband”—had gotten into the lockup. A state Highway Patrol K-9 unit assisted with “comprehensive searches” that BOP said were “ongoing.”
Pushing back against the agency’s claims, prisoners said showers were limited by frequent water shut-offs. Guards leave plastic bags outside cells for prisoners to defecate in, pickup them up when full for disposal. Meals have been reduced to “kid-size” portions of sandwiches made with peanut butter or sliced ham and cheese.
“Everybody’s pretty hungry here,” said one prisoner, who like others making reports did not wish to be identified for fear of retaliation.
The prison’s official website carried a message on April 1, 2024, that “[a]ll visiting at this facility has been suspended until further notice.”
Source: Kansas City Star
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