News & Updates

Today, Forbes reported on a new study criticizing the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for its failures to properly investigate staff misconduct (Pavlo, 2025). The study found that internal investigations are often delayed, inconsistent, and lacking transparency, leaving incarcerated individuals vulnerable and the public questioning the integrity of the nation’s largest correctional system.

For decades, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) operated with one of the most powerful shields in government: its union contract with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). That shield didn’t just protect staff paychecks or working conditions — it gave thousands of federal correctional officers a near-blanket defense from accountability. When inmates filed lawsuits, the United States Attorney's Office and union lawyers were there to defend staff.

When I first read the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) Inspection of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Detention Center SeaTac (Sept. 2025), it felt less like reading a government report and more like reading a mirror of my own lived experience. The findings laid bare what I — and thousands of others — have endured: a prison healthcare system so broken that pain, disability, and death are not outliers but predictable outcomes.

Life has a way of labeling us. Sometimes it’s what’s written on paper—a criminal record, a past mistake, or a chapter of our story we’d rather not be defined by. Other times it’s the judgments of people around us—family, friends, or even those who claim to walk closely with God. They see our failures and forget our humanity. They forget that every one of us stumbles.