After an outraged judge issued an order holding the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in civil contempt for allowing an incarcerated man to waste away from treatable cancer—first reported by Reason last week—the Office of Inspector General for the Justice Department announced on Friday that it is launching an investigation into the case.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in a press release that his office would investigate the circumstances of federal inmate Frederick Bardell's death due to colon cancer. U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton for the Middle District of Florida Orlando Division requested the investigation in his contempt order, writing that the Bureau of Prisons' cruel treatment of Bardell, as well as its misrepresentations to his court, were "inconsistent with the moral values of a civilized society and unworthy of the Department of Justice of the United States of America."
