The Bureau of Prisons has long been accused of bureaucratic blindness and thoughtless rigidity. Now, people are aghast at the federal prison officials are refusing a dying 10-year-old girl, Jayci Yaeger, her last wish: to spend time with her dad who is serving time for a drug offense.
Jayci is dying from brain tumors and has asked for spend some time with her Dad,
Jason. The prison officials, however, have denied requests for a 30-day release or any other accommodation under the circumstances. Mind you, Jason is in for drugs, not serial murder.
Even for the most sympathy challenged prison bureaucrat, you would think that some release would be possible. It is hardly likely that this will be an issue in many future cases when you have a small child who is clearly dying in a hospital. Yes, there may be some paperwork and novelty. However, it is actually possible to hold a government job and think creatively in such circumstances.
For the full story, click here.
Susan:
That is wonderful news and totally in keeping with the BOP’ s culture which is “unless the public cares we do as we please.” This time the public cares.
I just learned, from a news link from another forum I post regularly at, that this dad WAS allowed to visit with his daughter, albeit only for a few hours. Still, a small concession was better than nothing, I think.
http://www.ketv.com/news/15717572/detail.html
Quote from story:
“On Wednesday afternoon, prison guards drove Jason Yaeger to a Lincoln hospice, where he spent several hours at her bedside. No one else was allowed in the room except Jason Yaeger, Jayci and the escorts.”
I’m glad that this father was able to spend some time with his dying daughter, even if it wasn’t as much time as was originally requested.
thanks for your post Jonathan.
His daughter is dying. He has less than 4 months to go in a minimum security facility and he isn’t even given a 48 hour furlough. This is the BOP at its worst, but it is exactly indicative of who they are and how they operate.
Jonathan R.
http://www.federal-prison.org
Mespo, you are 100% correct. I have found that prison officials, whether at the city (jail), state or federal level, are all pretty much the same. Heartless bureaucrats, who like to punish not only inmates, but all of their family, loved ones, friends. They COULD show a little humanity in such sad cases like this one; they just don’t WANT to. And as far as I’M concerned, some of them are worse than the “perps” they have locked up in their facilities.
JT:
I have litigated against the BOP and I can tell you that it is hard to tell sometimes just who should actually be locked up after at trip to any of the FCI’s. This is a deplorable situation, and their indifference is staggering. I think Dante needs another circle of hell for those who inflict willful cruelty on children through indifference. As for “crimes” against children in Jayci’s circumstances there is no absolution in my “religion.”