ACTION: Stop the Lockdowns - Call the BOP

Dear Friends and Comrades, please help stop the lockdowns happening at federal prisons across the country.

Please call the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and use the suggested text below (download the PDF here) when you reach someone or to leave a message. Thank you!

Colette S. PetersDirector of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
(202) 307-3198
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Suggested Script:

Hello Director Peters,

I am calling about the extended use of lockdowns, which look like punishment and prevent inmates, especially the elders, to engage in physical activities that are necessary for good health.

These lockdowns have worsened the lack of medical care provided: no outside visit to doctors for blood work, for prostate exams/care, for hip, knee, or shoulder replacement, or even a yearly checkup. If you cannot put a stop to these lockdowns, they will become normal, and people will die in prison. Lockdowns cause a despondency so severe it leads to suicide. The lockdowns present a form of cruel and unusual punishment that the Bureau of Prisons holds a responsibility to meaningfully address.

We are asking that you remedy this as soon as possible and restore the prisoners’ basic human rights and health care. We have been patient with these lockdowns, lack of visits, and communication restrictions, which are especially challenging with elder incarcerated family members. But conditions have reached a point at which I felt I must reach out to you as Director of the BOP to address these transgressions. Please restore the realistic ability of prisoners to maintain physical and mental health as is necessary for a safe prison environment and the basic human dignity we all deserve.
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End of suggested script

Leave your name and phone # if you want.

If you want to send an e-mail instead of calling, check out this form: https://www.bop.gov/inmates/concerns.jsp