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October 14, 2022

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