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Judge Holds Federal Prisons Officials in Contempt over Mistreatment of Prisoner with Cancer

HeadlineOct 14, 2022

In Florida, a federal judge has held the Federal Bureau of Prisons and a local warden in contempt of court over their neglect and indifference to the plight of a 54-year-old prisoner who was dying of cancer. Frederick Mervin Bardell was diagnosed with an intestinal mass several years ago, at a time when his tumor was treatable, but his repeated requests for compassionate release and healthcare were denied, and his cancer metastasized. In a scathing 14-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton wrote, “The treatment Mr. Bardell received in the last days of his life is inconsistent with the moral values of a civilized society and unworthy of the Department of Justice of the United States of America.” The judge’s order contained photographs of Bardell just after he had arrived at a hospital bleeding, incontinent and emaciated, after he was “deposited on the curb of the Dallas/Fort Worth airport to fend for himself.” He died nine days after his release.

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