BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – In September, US Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) called for an investigation into FCC Hazelton in Preston County. This comes after claims of alleged serious misconduct at the prison. That includes falsified incident reports and requests to tamper with security cameras to cover up inmate escapes, staff urinating on prisoner property, and staff forcing prisoners to defecate on themselves as a condition of being released from restrictive custody. According to the senator’s letters, some employees who engaged in these incidents weren’t fired but instead promoted despite open investigations into the misconduct. Officials claim some of what goes on at Hazleton is due to a lack of staffing with more than 70 officer vacancies at the prison as of September. In February, the Department of Justice released a report that found the BOP failed to prevent the deaths of 14 inmates at FCC Hazelton over the course of eight years. That makes Hazleton the second deadliest prison in the country. At a press conference in Morgantown earlier this year, Senator Joe Manchin addressed the state of the prison.
“It’s something that’s very alarming to all of us,” Manchin said. “I’ve spoken to the prison authorities; I’ve spoken to FBI Director Wray, I’ve spoken to all the people. We need to have a deep look into how we operate that prison, and why we aren’t performing at the level. We have some very dangerous people that are there and we think we can do a service. The workers up there are dedicated, but they need to have support too.”
As of March 21st, there has been no status update on the BOP investigating Hazleton, nor have any corrective actions made by the prison been made public.
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