Letter From CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling Details Federal Prisons
Scandalous Treatment
Published on
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
by
Shadowproof
Letter From CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling Details Federal Prisons
Scandalous Treatment
by
Kevin Gosztola
Still from "The Invisible Man," a documentary featuring CIA whistleblower
Jeffrey Sterling.(Image: Judith Ehrlich)
Shadowproof Editors Note: Concerned with the Federal Bureau of Prisons
failure to provide medical treatment and their indifference toward CIA
whistleblower Jeffrey Sterlings heart problems, Shadowproof exchanged
letters with Sterling to bring more attention to his mistreatment. The
federal governments position is that Sterling is fabricating medical
information and lying about his health.
Below are copies of the letters exchanged, my letter to Sterling and his
response. And here is a full report on Sterlings treatment in prison.
The only thing that has helped Sterling obtain any sort of medical attention
is outside pressure, according to Sterling. If you are concerned about the
BOPs treatment and abuse of Sterling after reading his letter, please call
the BOPs North Central Regional Office at 913-621-3939 or FCI Englewood,
where Sterling is imprisoned, at 303-763-4300.
The Letter To Jeffrey Sterling
Dear Jeffrey,
I have followed your case closely, and I have also read recent updates from
John Kiriakou, whose case I also covered extensively. I published his prison
letters from FCI Loretto. Thank you for taking the time to answer some
questions I have about your current struggle to obtain proper medical
treatment for your heart condition.
As of September 26, what is your current condition? What symptoms do you
continue to endure? How critical do you believe it is that FCI Englewood
take your symptoms seriously and grant you access to proper medical
treatment? In other words, what do you need FCI Englewood to do for you now?
How has your condition changed over the past months, and how responsive are
officers within FCI Loretto to your insistence or requests for medical
treatment? When you complain about pain, how long does it take until you
finally see a doctor or medical professional?
I understand you are expected to exhaust the administrative process before
going outside this system to force the prison to give you proper medical
treatment. What do you think of this process?
I also recognize you, and your wife, Holly, have attempted other actions to
convince the prison to take care of your urgent medical needs. What have you
tried and what effect do you believe these actions have had?
John Kiriakou reported on August 28 that Warden Deborah Denham had reversed
her decision and would put a request into the Bureau of Prisons Regional
Office in Denver that you be taken to an outside cardiologist for
testing. Did you get to see a cardiologist? Is that how you found out you
had high levels of Troponin?
The system appears to be setup in such a way that the prison reviews the
budget to see if it can afford potentially life-saving medical care before
approving treatment. It seems like it is extraordinarily difficult for
anyone in prison to get preventive health care.
Kiriakou shared the following assessment of the medical unit at FCI Loretto
as he completed his sentence:
People under the care of the medical unit at Loretto die with terrifying
frequency. I intend to report on and to write about the units malfeasance
soon. You already know about my own experience with Glyburide. Since passing
out last August, I have never been called down to see a medical
professional. My friend Frank complained for three months about chest pains
and shortness of breath. He was told to wait: Medical would ask permission
from the BOPs regional office for him to see a cardiologist.
Frank heard nothing for those three months and then one day, while waiting
for an insulin shot, he had a massive heart attack. Paramedics rushed him to
a local hospital, where had had successful surgery. He was in the hospital
for two weeks, barely having lived through the experience. Two weeks ago, I
happened to be in the medical unit when I saw a prisoner wheel in another
prisoner who was clutching his chest and crying. The 70-year-old told the
technician on duty that he was having a heart attack. Her response? Well,
youre just going to have to wait because nobody else has gotten to work
yet. There are some very bad animals here, but none have been sentenced to
death.
From what you have experienced, how does Kiriakous firsthand account
compare? Would you call it standard operating procedure to let a person
suffer heart attacks and delay treatment until the prison is ready to admit
such person is near death?
Finally, what retaliation (if any) has occurred in response to the
collective effort by you, your wife, and supporters to obtain proper medical
treatment for you? Or do you think the prison has held off on retaliation
for the time being?
Best,
Kevin Gosztola
Jeffrey Sterlings Response
Mr. Gosztola, Thank you for your note and interest. I will try to answer
your questions as best I can.
As of September 26, 2016, I am a few days into taking the beta blocker
(metoprolol) that was prescribed. The symptoms I have complained of since
June 21, 2016 continue though not as frequent and not as intense. It is so
difficult describing the feeling I have during the times my heart does
flutter/palpitate, but imagine feeling a sudden very hard heartbeat with a
sort of pause that emulates your entire body, breathing, moving, etc. being
suddenly halted. There is also an at times sharp pain within my chest at the
heart. Add in lightheadedness and shortness of breath in with those events
and thats what it feels like. Some days, the events are continual and it
feels like at any moment my heart is just going to stop. In addition, Im
not sure whether it is from the medication or to do with my overall health
(not to mention the stress of attempting to obtain help from FCI Englewood),
but my energy level is quite low.
Of course, I certainly believe that FCI Englewood should take this situation
seriously, this is a very scary situation for me. As I have stated time and
again to the medical staff here, the episode of atrial fibrillation I
experienced some years ago was serious enough for me to be hospitalized for
4 days and what I felt then is what Im feeling now. Unfortunately, FCI
Englewood has done everything but take what I have presented to them with
regard to my health seriously. Certainly indicative of their dismissiveness
has been the reaction at each and every instance I have gone to them for
help. I cannot imagine any other setting where an individual presents
medical professionals with heart related symptoms on repeated occasions and
is continually dismissed.
There has been more effort to refute me than there has been to actually
provide any care. For example, theres the assertions about what took place
on June 21, 2016. In no uncertain terms, medical at FCI Englewood responded
to Hollys concerns by stating in an email that I was being untruthful when
I was told that day by the nurse who administered the EKG that there was a
blockage. Instead of addressing my health concerns, FCI Englewood medical
chose to tell my wife that I was making up the episode and what I was told.
Over and over, medical here has claimed that there is no information in my
records of a history of atrial fibrillation and that I at no time was
scheduled for an EKG shortly after my arrival here. These claims are false.
What has been really troublesome is what happened on September 17, 2016.
That day, I was experiencing chest pains and went to medical. I was in such
distress, I was in tears waiting for the corrections officer to call up to
medical to see if it was okay for me to be seen. Even then, I had to wait
until I could be seen, because the medical staffer on duty was with someone
else. The response to my complaining of chest pains was another EKG, a
cursory exam and a review of my medical records. I was summarily dismissed
to return to my housing unit after a mere discussion of my medical
situation. It was at this encounter that I first heard of the elevated
Troponin level. The blood for the test was drawn on July 27, 2016 (only
after I had inquired about whether they said blood test were going to be
performed on June 21, 2016). Prior to September 17, 2016, no one had said
anything to me about an elevated Troponin level. And then, I learn from
Holly, from a conversation she had with someone from the BOP Regional Office
that not only was there no information about the Troponin level in the
records, but also that there was no record of the September 17, 2016, visit
to medical. It is as if the September 17, 2016, visit did not happen and
that no one told me anything about an elevated Troponin level. Seems
anything that has indicated a health problem that needed addressing has not
been included in my records. The position of FCI Englewood with regard to
medical situations clearly is, if it isnt written down, it didnt happen.
I was finally seen by a specialist on September 19, 2016. For the consult, I
was handcuffed, with a waist chain and my ankles were shackled together. I
was so restrained during the entire visit with the doctor. Salient or no, it
was quite humiliating being paraded on the streets and through the medical
facility. Not to mention the fact that even though I was completely
restrained, I had to sign a statement promising not to go shopping while
away from the prison. Be that as it may, if that is what I have to endure to
receive help, then so be it. But, whether I have actually received help is
debatable.
The September 19, 2016 doctor visit also calls into question the veracity of
FCI Englewoods concern for my health. The conversation Holly had with the
BOP official was on September 21, 2016, so it is apparent that the medical
records, if any provided to the doctor by FCI Englewood, were incomplete.
Also, even though the doctor prescribed the beta blocker on September 19,
2016, I did not receive the medication until September 21, 2016. As I also
understand from the conversation, the BOP is taking the position that I am
fabricating everything, which is in line with the stance FCI Englewood has
expressed to my wife Holly and via their non-action.
I think there has also been a bit of administrative positioning happening as
well. At no point since the issues with my heart started have I actually
seen the doctor at FCI Englewood; I have only been seen by PAs and maybe a
nurse. And, not until September 20, 2016, was there any information, in the
internal system inmates use for medical notices, that there was any notice
from the doctor that he approved me to see an outside specialist. I had
already visited the doctor on September 19, 2016.
You ask about the internal administrative procedures; there may be utility
for such a process, but the delay and self-protective nature inherent in
such a process is counter-intuitive and potentially deadly when it comes to
issues of health. I have filed three complaints and the responses have been
either denial or nonexistent. It has not been because of the administrative
process that I have received any help from FCI Englewood. Only because of
the efforts of my wonderful wife Holly and our supporters has anything
happened in response to my repeated pleas for help. If anything, the
administrative process has been used as a tool by FCI Englewood to do
nothing.
The account by John Kiriakou is the norm. I have heard such stories while
here at FCI Englewood as well. For instance, there was the word going around
about an inmate who died in late August 2016. The prison rumor mill (or
inmate dot com as it is referred) had it that the individual, William,
succumbed to a heart attack. It was also posited that he had requested help
during the attack, but was told he needed to wait until sick call, which was
hours later, to be seen by anyone. He returned to his bunk an died. That
someone indeed died was evident from the memorial service which was held in
early September 2016. Naturally, I was somewhat skeptical about the death
until I had a conversation with an inmate who was friends with William.
William had been complaining to medical for weeks about chest discomfiture,
but medical ignored his condition and told him to drink water. That struck
me because that statement is exactly what medical has told me during my
encounters with them. As such, it is difficult for me to dismiss the story
of his death as mere rumor.
Truly, to FCI Englewood and the BOP, the life of an inmate is a cheap
commodity. I am experiencing that attitude firsthand. All I can do is seek
help from those who, if anything, have a responsibility and obligation to
provide help. I have repeatedly sought out, if not begged for help. I have
been left in the position of hoping that something more serious does not
happen to me or that I have not developed any lasting damage.
Copyright FDL Media Group ©, All Rights Reserved.
Kevin Gosztola
Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof Press. He also produces and
co-hosts the weekly podcast, Unauthorized Disclosure. Follow him on Twitter:
@kgosztola
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Letter From CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling Details Federal Prisons
Scandalous Treatment
Published on
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
by
Shadowproof
Letter From CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling Details Federal Prisons
Scandalous Treatment
by
Kevin Gosztola
8 Comments
Still from "The Invisible Man," a documentary featuring CIA
whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling.(Image: Judith Ehrlich)
Shadowproof Editors Note: Concerned with the Federal Bureau of
Prisons failure to provide medical treatment and their indifference toward
CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterlings heart problems, Shadowproof exchanged
letters with Sterling to bring more attention to his mistreatment. The
federal governments position is that Sterling is fabricating medical
information and lying about his health.
Below are copies of the letters exchanged, my letter to Sterling and
his response. And here is a full report on Sterlings treatment in prison.
The only thing that has helped Sterling obtain any sort of medical
attention is outside pressure, according to Sterling. If you are concerned
about the BOPs treatment and abuse of Sterling after reading his letter,
please call the BOPs North Central Regional Office at 913-621-3939 or FCI
Englewood, where Sterling is imprisoned, at 303-763-4300.
The Letter To Jeffrey Sterling
Dear Jeffrey,
I have followed your case closely, and I have also read recent updates from
John Kiriakou, whose case I also covered extensively. I published his prison
letters from FCI Loretto. Thank you for taking the time to answer some
questions I have about your current struggle to obtain proper medical
treatment for your heart condition.
As of September 26, what is your current condition? What symptoms do you
continue to endure? How critical do you believe it is that FCI Englewood
take your symptoms seriously and grant you access to proper medical
treatment? In other words, what do you need FCI Englewood to do for you now?
How has your condition changed over the past months, and how responsive are
officers within FCI Loretto to your insistence or requests for medical
treatment? When you complain about pain, how long does it take until you
finally see a doctor or medical professional?
I understand you are expected to exhaust the administrative process before
going outside this system to force the prison to give you proper medical
treatment. What do you think of this process?
I also recognize you, and your wife, Holly, have attempted other actions to
convince the prison to take care of your urgent medical needs. What have you
tried and what effect do you believe these actions have had?
John Kiriakou reported on August 28 that Warden Deborah Denham had reversed
her decision and would put a request into the Bureau of Prisons Regional
Office in Denver that you be taken to an outside cardiologist for
testing. Did you get to see a cardiologist? Is that how you found out you
had high levels of Troponin?
The system appears to be setup in such a way that the prison reviews the
budget to see if it can afford potentially life-saving medical care before
approving treatment. It seems like it is extraordinarily difficult for
anyone in prison to get preventive health care.
Kiriakou shared the following assessment of the medical unit at FCI Loretto
as he completed his sentence:
People under the care of the medical unit at Loretto die with terrifying
frequency. I intend to report on and to write about the units malfeasance
soon. You already know about my own experience with Glyburide. Since passing
out last August, I have never been called down to see a medical
professional. My friend Frank complained for three months about chest pains
and shortness of breath. He was told to wait: Medical would ask permission
from the BOPs regional office for him to see a cardiologist.
Frank heard nothing for those three months and then one day, while waiting
for an insulin shot, he had a massive heart attack. Paramedics rushed him to
a local hospital, where had had successful surgery. He was in the hospital
for two weeks, barely having lived through the experience. Two weeks ago, I
happened to be in the medical unit when I saw a prisoner wheel in another
prisoner who was clutching his chest and crying. The 70-year-old told the
technician on duty that he was having a heart attack. Her response? Well,
youre just going to have to wait because nobody else has gotten to work
yet. There are some very bad animals here, but none have been sentenced to
death.
From what you have experienced, how does Kiriakous firsthand account
compare? Would you call it standard operating procedure to let a person
suffer heart attacks and delay treatment until the prison is ready to admit
such person is near death?
Finally, what retaliation (if any) has occurred in response to the
collective effort by you, your wife, and supporters to obtain proper medical
treatment for you? Or do you think the prison has held off on retaliation
for the time being?
Best,
Kevin Gosztola
Jeffrey Sterlings Response
Mr. Gosztola, Thank you for your note and interest. I will try to answer
your questions as best I can.
As of September 26, 2016, I am a few days into taking the beta blocker
(metoprolol) that was prescribed. The symptoms I have complained of since
June 21, 2016 continue though not as frequent and not as intense. It is so
difficult describing the feeling I have during the times my heart does
flutter/palpitate, but imagine feeling a sudden very hard heartbeat with a
sort of pause that emulates your entire body, breathing, moving, etc. being
suddenly halted. There is also an at times sharp pain within my chest at the
heart. Add in lightheadedness and shortness of breath in with those events
and thats what it feels like. Some days, the events are continual and it
feels like at any moment my heart is just going to stop. In addition, Im
not sure whether it is from the medication or to do with my overall health
(not to mention the stress of attempting to obtain help from FCI Englewood),
but my energy level is quite low.
Of course, I certainly believe that FCI Englewood should take this situation
seriously, this is a very scary situation for me. As I have stated time and
again to the medical staff here, the episode of atrial fibrillation I
experienced some years ago was serious enough for me to be hospitalized for
4 days and what I felt then is what Im feeling now. Unfortunately, FCI
Englewood has done everything but take what I have presented to them with
regard to my health seriously. Certainly indicative of their dismissiveness
has been the reaction at each and every instance I have gone to them for
help. I cannot imagine any other setting where an individual presents
medical professionals with heart related symptoms on repeated occasions and
is continually dismissed.
There has been more effort to refute me than there has been to actually
provide any care. For example, theres the assertions about what took place
on June 21, 2016. In no uncertain terms, medical at FCI Englewood responded
to Hollys concerns by stating in an email that I was being untruthful when
I was told that day by the nurse who administered the EKG that there was a
blockage. Instead of addressing my health concerns, FCI Englewood medical
chose to tell my wife that I was making up the episode and what I was told.
Over and over, medical here has claimed that there is no information in my
records of a history of atrial fibrillation and that I at no time was
scheduled for an EKG shortly after my arrival here. These claims are false.
What has been really troublesome is what happened on September 17, 2016.
That day, I was experiencing chest pains and went to medical. I was in such
distress, I was in tears waiting for the corrections officer to call up to
medical to see if it was okay for me to be seen. Even then, I had to wait
until I could be seen, because the medical staffer on duty was with someone
else. The response to my complaining of chest pains was another EKG, a
cursory exam and a review of my medical records. I was summarily dismissed
to return to my housing unit after a mere discussion of my medical
situation. It was at this encounter that I first heard of the elevated
Troponin level. The blood for the test was drawn on July 27, 2016 (only
after I had inquired about whether they said blood test were going to be
performed on June 21, 2016). Prior to September 17, 2016, no one had said
anything to me about an elevated Troponin level. And then, I learn from
Holly, from a conversation she had with someone from the BOP Regional Office
that not only was there no information about the Troponin level in the
records, but also that there was no record of the September 17, 2016, visit
to medical. It is as if the September 17, 2016, visit did not happen and
that no one told me anything about an elevated Troponin level. Seems
anything that has indicated a health problem that needed addressing has not
been included in my records. The position of FCI Englewood with regard to
medical situations clearly is, if it isnt written down, it didnt happen.
I was finally seen by a specialist on September 19, 2016. For the consult, I
was handcuffed, with a waist chain and my ankles were shackled together. I
was so restrained during the entire visit with the doctor. Salient or no, it
was quite humiliating being paraded on the streets and through the medical
facility. Not to mention the fact that even though I was completely
restrained, I had to sign a statement promising not to go shopping while
away from the prison. Be that as it may, if that is what I have to endure to
receive help, then so be it. But, whether I have actually received help is
debatable.
The September 19, 2016 doctor visit also calls into question the veracity of
FCI Englewoods concern for my health. The conversation Holly had with the
BOP official was on September 21, 2016, so it is apparent that the medical
records, if any provided to the doctor by FCI Englewood, were incomplete.
Also, even though the doctor prescribed the beta blocker on September 19,
2016, I did not receive the medication until September 21, 2016. As I also
understand from the conversation, the BOP is taking the position that I am
fabricating everything, which is in line with the stance FCI Englewood has
expressed to my wife Holly and via their non-action.
I think there has also been a bit of administrative positioning happening as
well. At no point since the issues with my heart started have I actually
seen the doctor at FCI Englewood; I have only been seen by PAs and maybe a
nurse. And, not until September 20, 2016, was there any information, in the
internal system inmates use for medical notices, that there was any notice
from the doctor that he approved me to see an outside specialist. I had
already visited the doctor on September 19, 2016.
You ask about the internal administrative procedures; there may be utility
for such a process, but the delay and self-protective nature inherent in
such a process is counter-intuitive and potentially deadly when it comes to
issues of health. I have filed three complaints and the responses have been
either denial or nonexistent. It has not been because of the administrative
process that I have received any help from FCI Englewood. Only because of
the efforts of my wonderful wife Holly and our supporters has anything
happened in response to my repeated pleas for help. If anything, the
administrative process has been used as a tool by FCI Englewood to do
nothing.
The account by John Kiriakou is the norm. I have heard such stories while
here at FCI Englewood as well. For instance, there was the word going around
about an inmate who died in late August 2016. The prison rumor mill (or
inmate dot com as it is referred) had it that the individual, William,
succumbed to a heart attack. It was also posited that he had requested help
during the attack, but was told he needed to wait until sick call, which was
hours later, to be seen by anyone. He returned to his bunk an died. That
someone indeed died was evident from the memorial service which was held in
early September 2016. Naturally, I was somewhat skeptical about the death
until I had a conversation with an inmate who was friends with William.
William had been complaining to medical for weeks about chest discomfiture,
but medical ignored his condition and told him to drink water. That struck
me because that statement is exactly what medical has told me during my
encounters with them. As such, it is difficult for me to dismiss the story
of his death as mere rumor.
Truly, to FCI Englewood and the BOP, the life of an inmate is a cheap
commodity. I am experiencing that attitude firsthand. All I can do is seek
help from those who, if anything, have a responsibility and obligation to
provide help. I have repeatedly sought out, if not begged for help. I have
been left in the position of hoping that something more serious does not
happen to me or that I have not developed any lasting damage.
Copyright FDL Media Group ©, All Rights Reserved.
