Deb Golden

@debgoldendc.bsky.social

3951 Followers 1776 Following

Lawyer. Not your lawyer. Mother. Not your mother. By day (and frankly nights and weekends), a civil rights lawyer for people who are incarcerated. Other times, just exhausted. Washington DC based.

A sign explaining why there is a Student Prison, which we are about to tour

A sign advertising Bud Beer

According to the initiative, students would have several options to confirm their sex: a visual genital exam, a lab test to determine their genetic makeup, or an analysis of testosterone levels in the blood. The genital exam, which a medical professional can conduct without touching the child, would likely be the most accessible option for most kids.

A post on Ask Washington on Nextdoor: Are there any museums around Washington that are worth visiting?
Art, history, science, or something unique. Which ones would you recommend to neighbors?

https://www.reddit.com/r/legal/s/pNuFecDdc1

A beautiful purple drink with a pretty lemon and green sprig. It's called Fields of Lavender.

Screenshot of the faqs for overbilled ai

Screenshot of an ad for overbilled ai

Only a quarter of complaints in 2023 were actually denied, meaning prison officials evaluated the content of the requests and refused them based on their merits. A growing portion, 29%, were “closed” that year for other reasons. That often meant officials responded with a vague answer to prisoners’ pleas that is “for informational purposes only,” and not registered as a rejection or denial. According to Giamusso, that designation is used for cases that “do not require any corrective action.”

Attorneys and people in prison recounted the most frustrating reasons for rejections they’ve seen, like writing with a pencil instead of a pen, or a woman reporting sexual abuse who was rejected for misspelling her abuser’s last name. One advocate recalled a case where a Spanish-speaking prisoner filed a grievance asking for translation services, but was rejected for writing it in Spanish.

Across 24 years of prison filings, healthcare-related requests like Mollica’s were the third most common reason for someone to lodge a complaint, behind housing problems and staff-related issues. Of all medical grievances decided in 2023, fewer than 1% were granted.The bureau’s approval rate appears to be far below that of many state corrections departments, the news organizations found, though departments track such data in different ways. In California, officials granted roughly 15% of grievances and appeals in 2023, according to an analysis by The Marshall Project and NPR. In Georgia, nearly 13% of cases were “granted, partially granted or resolved,” that year, according to the department. In Texas state prisons, over 4% of complaints and appeals processed that year were “resolved in inmate favor” — a very small portion, but about twice the bureau’s rate.

Building the scaffolding to take down the fuckers name

Guy with flag and one with your no jfk sign

Screenshot of the story notes that Rahm Emanuel's middle name is Israel

Me holding Skittles and Reese's in front of a Royal Farms chicken mascot statue

There are bad movies, and then there are movies that drain all life and joy out of a person’s soul. The new animated Animal Farm falls firmly into the latter category. Directed by Andy Serkis and adapted from the original George Orwell novel, this is a movie aimed at children but is really for no one with any sense or taste. That includes the kids of the world. Six-year-olds are too savvy for this shit.

A package of Manischewitz kosher for pesach gluten free noodles.

2. Ms. Holland’s sentence is REDUCED to time served as of Thursday,
April 9, 2026. The Bureau of Prisons, and any contractor in privity
with it, are ORDERED not to cancel Ms. Holland’s appointment with
the breast surgeon for April 8, 2026, and are further ORDERED to
ensure that she has whatever accommodations she needs to attend
that appointment. As of April 9, 2026, the Bureau of Prisons is further
ORDERED to make whatever accommodations needed to end her
sentence, given her home confinement status. Ms. Holland’s

emerge unscathed, while the Government’s lawyer—and most importantly, the
inmate—will carry the scars of its misfeasance. See United States v. Bardell, No. 6:11-

There can be no presumption of regularity. The

Nothing seems to move the nation’s federal prison system operators to
improve their response to the urgent medical needs of the federal prison
population. Court orders go unread or ignored. OIG reports are dismissed,
recommendations unheeded. Sanctions brook no change. Outside medical
referrals are like Solzhenitsyn’s sick bay in the Soviet Gulag: a coveted but nearly
inaccessible refuge for which only prisoners near death qualify for admission.2

2 See generally Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH

The failure to provide inmates with urgent medical care is now a well-
documented problem with the BOP. See OIG Report at 50–51. Three months ago,

with lumps in both breasts and bleeding from the nipples, Ms. Holland received
an urgent referral for a doctor’s appointment to check for cancer. She still has not
seen a doctor. The BOP’s repeated failures—to timely provide Ms. Holland with
an appointment, to get her to the right doctor, even to collect her complete medical
records—self-evidently show that Ms. Holland has an extraordinary and
compelling medical circumstance qualifying her for compassionate release. See

Recommendation 7: The Department should develop policies or procedures that provide guidance to AUSAs
about steps they should take and factors they should consider when responding to motions for
compassionate release based on medical circumstances. As part of such policies or procedures, the
Department should consider requiring AUSAs, before responding to a motion for compassionate release, to
seek input from BOP medical professionals or other medical experts and address timeliness and quality of
past medical care by the BOP for the inmate, understaffing at the facility where the inmate is housed, and
the BOP’s ability to meet the inmate’s needs.
Status: Resolved.
EOUSA Response: EOUSA reported the following:
55
EOUSA concurs with this recommendation. EOUSA will distribute guidance to the United States
Attorney community that addresses this recommendation and provides that United States
Attorneys’ offices should:
• Coordinate with BOP to obtain relevant records;
• Consider BOP’s ability to meet the inmate’s medical needs;
• Identify USAO point(s) of contact for consultation on motions involving complex medical questions;
• Consult with the Criminal Division’s Mental Health Litigation Unit on motions involving complex
questions related to the inmate’s cognitive ability or mental health; and
• Require supervisory review and approval before line attorneys respond to motions for
compassionate release based on terminal illnesses or other medical circumstances implicating
complex or novel questions

Alongside this status report, the Government’s counsel filed a motion to
supplement Ms. Holland’s medical records to explain the discrepancy identified
at the hearing, stating that when Ms. Holland was transferred to home
confinement, her medical care was taken over by a BOP third-party contractor. (Id.
at 6.) Counsel acknowledged that the missing records were in the possession,
custody, and control of the BOP via this contractor, but asserted that the failure to
provide them was inadvertent because the BOP’s attorney “provided the
defendant’s entire medical file as it understood the Court’s order.” (Id. at 2, 6, 9
(emphasis added).) Counsel now asks the Court for leave to file these finally
complete medical records under seal. (Id. at 10.)

On March 27, the deadline by which Ms. Holland was supposed to have
seen a breast surgeon, Ms. Holland’s counsel filed an update. (Doc. 206.) To the
surprise of no one, the BOP did not do what it was ordered to do. Despite the
Court’s order for haste, the BOP took no action until March 20, more than three
weeks after the hearing. (Id. at 2.) Incredibly, the BOP again scheduled Ms. Holland
with a general surgeon, not a breast surgeon. (Id.) And to add insult to injury, the
appointment was in Gainesville, not Orlando. (Id.) The appointment was set for
March 23, but when Ms. Holland informed them of these issues, the BOP canceled
it. (Id.) So on March 25, two days before the deadline, the BOP finally scheduled
Ms. Holland with a breast surgeon in Orlando. (Id. at 2–3.) But—likely because the

deeming the referral urgent. (Doc. 204, Tr. 4:4–6:7.) Counsel then conceded that
the referral was urgent, contrary to the Government’s written response. (Id. at 6:8–
17.) The Court advised the Government that it intended to grant Ms. Holland
compassionate release if she did not see a breast surgeon in thirty days, by
March 27. (See id. at 9:17–10:5.) The Court emphasized the urgency of the matter
and noted that she needed to be seen by a breast surgeon, not a general surgeon.
(See id. at 7:7–8 (“This is a matter of exigency. It needs to be handled with
alacrity.”), 8:18–9:2.) The Court confirmed this oral ruling with a written Order a
few days later, on March 4. (Doc. 200.)

But the medical file certified as complete was, in fact, not complete. It did
not include the January 21 letter indicating the breast surgeon referral was urgent,
nor did it include the January 8 referral itself. The Government’s counsel took note
of the fact that the files she was certifying as complete did not include these items,
and thus, were not complete. (Doc. 205, p. 5 n.2.)

Concerned by this letter, the Court issued an Order on February 17
appointing Ms. Holland counsel and setting a hearing as soon as practicable, on
February 26. (Doc. 193.) The Court advised both parties to “be prepared to discuss
Defendant’s medical records in full and anticipated medical needs, with
accompanying documentation.” (Id.) Mindful of the recent OIG Report, the Court
ordered the Government’s counsel to inquire further with the BOP to ensure that
the Court was in possession of Ms. Holland’s entire medical file and then to certify
to the Court that she had done so. (Id.) The following day, the Government’s
counsel filed the certification, along with what she represented was Ms. Holland’s
complete medical file. (Doc. 198.)

Shortly thereafter, Ms. Holland filed two supplemental replies on
January 28 and February 11 documenting additional delays and failures in care.
(Docs. 191, 192.) The latter asserted that on February 9, a month after the referral,

This response struck the Court as suspect. A few weeks earlier, the
Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) published
a report concluding that the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) delayed scheduling urgent
medical appointments, leading to the death by treatable cancer of an inmate
sentenced by the Undersigned. See DEP’T OF JUST. OFF. OF INSPECTOR GEN.,
INVESTIGATION AND REVIEW OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS’ CONDITIONS OF
CONFINEMENT AND MEDICAL TREATMENT OF FREDERICK MERVIN BARDELL AND
RELATED REPRESENTATIONS TO THE COURT, UPON REFERRAL BY SENIOR U.S. DISTRICT
JUDGE ROY B. DALTON, JR., at 50–51 (2026) (“OIG Report”). Part of the OIG Report
concluded that DOJ’s reliance on the BOP’s representations without further
inquiry contributed to Frederick Bardell’s fate. Id. at 47.

DOJ OIG Releases Report of Investigation and Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Conditions of Confinement and Medical Treatment of Frederick Mervin Bardell and Related Representations to the Court
Download Press Release
Department of Justice (DOJ) Acting Inspector General Don R. Berthiaume announced today the release of a report regarding the DOJ Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) investigation and review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) conditions of confinement and medical treatment of Frederick Mervin Bardell and related representations to the court. Bardell was released from the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Seagoville, Texas, pursuant to a compassionate release order on February 8, 2021, and passed away from advanced metastatic colorectal cancer 9 days later. The OIG initiated this investigation and review following an October 4, 2022 court order regarding Bardell’s death, in which the U.S. District Judge who presided over Bardell’s emergency motions to obtain a compassionate release recommended a DOJ investigation into the matter, including any misrepresentations to the court by the government regarding the seriousness of Bardell’s condition.

Overall, the OIG identified job performance and management failures at multiple levels within FCI Seagoville, from line staff through the Warden. We also identified problems with the BOP’s medical care of inmates, handling of compassionate release requests due to medical circumstances, and handling of compassionate release orders. Our specific findings include:

The BOP’s ability to provide quality and timely medical care to Bardell was negatively impacted by severe understaffing in FCI Seagoville’s Health Services Unit. Specifically, Bardell did not undergo a successful colonoscopy until January 29, 2021, more than 6 months after he first reported seeing blood in his stool to medical staff and 73 days after a computed tomography scan showed that he likely had stage IV colon cancer and urgently nee…

The Government opposed. (Doc. 190.) While the Government’s attorney
acknowledged the referral to a breast surgeon, she stated that “there does not
appear to be any documented emergency.” (Id. at 8.)

On January 16, 2026, in a lengthy and inexpert pro se filing, Ms. Holland
again sought compassionate release on a variety of grounds, including those the
Court previously rejected. (Doc. 186.) But one of those grounds was new: on
December 23, 2025, a doctor found lumps in both breasts and bloody discharge
from her nipples and concluded she had a high risk of breast cancer, ordering

In addition, this Court is persuaded that this rationale reasonably extends to criminal proceedings that have been thwarted by the BOP's own actions in conducting compelled interviews that allowed corrections officers to make sweeping admissions with little fear of prosecution, as document in the Senate Report. Notwithstanding the fact that Palomares and several other officers admitted to sexually abusing inmates under their supervision at Coleman, and the Government admitted to similar allegations in response to the Defendant's 2019 lawsuit, these officers have not been prosecuted to this day for such conduct. All of this suggests that the BOP's missteps in handling allegations of sexual abuse when female inmates were still housed at Coleman made it virtually impossible to pursue a prosecution of any of the officers involved.

Defendant may still be eligible for relief as a victim of abuse if she can demonstrate that criminal or administrative proceedings are unduly delayed.

The Government's suggestion thtat the fact that Palomares was permitted to retire with full pension benefits notwithstanding his admission to engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with several inmates at Coleman somehow demonstrates his innocence is, at best, tone deaf and offensive.

And the Senate Report included excerpts from Chirstopher Palomares's compelled interview, in which he admitted to having "had a large number of sexual encounters with inmates when [he] was an officer at FCC COleman. I would say there is over a 70% chance I received oral sex from [redacted] in the visiting room. I have received oral sex from a number of inmates and a number of times."

A cute black poodle snuggled in my arm

Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons

Close up of panel with crosses and rosaries

Assortment labeled "Passover Nail Stickers" with 6 panels

Stella, a very cute black dog, looking regal, sitting on my bed

Upon consideration of Plaintiffs' Emergency Motion for an Order Requiring Defendants To Show Cause for Why They Should Not Be Held in Civil Contempt, and the entire record in this case, it is hereby:
ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion is GRANTED as follows:

No later than 5:00 PM EST on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, FCI-Butner Warden Scott Garland, Lieutenant B. Teague, Lieutenant Cobb, Officer Terry, Officer Estrada, Officer Holloman, Unit Manager Privette, and Officer Neil shall submit a response explaining why they should not be held in civil contempt. The response should specifically address the allegations in Plaintiffs' motion, the steps those individuals have taken to protect Grace Pinson and other individuals who have complained of retaliation in FCI Butner, and the actions the prison officers identified above will take moving forward to protect the safety of class members or other individuals who have provided or will provide information to Plaintiffs' counsel or the Court as part of this litigation.

A Reddit post showing Kathy Henderson announcing her mayoral campaign on Newsmax

Savory Hamantaschen
Spiced Beef (NF)
Half-Dozen | $24
Flaky pie crust filled with a savory mixture of spiced ground beef and potatoes.

Caramelized Onion & Mushroom (VG, NF)
Half-Dozen | $24
Tender pie crust filled with sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onions, f inished with thyme and a rich béchamel for a savory vegetarian option.

Protestors chanting Hey Kristi Noem I wanna know why you're such a cunt

Half drunk beer, with airport in background

Investigation and Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Conditions of Convenient and Medical Treatment of Frederick Mervin Bardell and Related Representations to the Court, Upon Referral by Senior Judge Roy B Dalton, Jr.

The Court expressed its appreciation to attorney Ana Voss and her colleagues who have struggled mightily to ensure that the respondents comply with court orders despite the fact that respondents have failed to provide them with adequate resources.

A sign on the front door of my local hardware store "we are out of ice melt"

xkcd: Average Familiarity https://share.google/3hS7qrRvDkXqxBjnu

Amazing food from Owamni

Hawkeye opines on war v hell

Tim Hortons to go cup

In one article, titled “An Audacious Proposal,” Army called on the U.S. to implement “the death penalty at a grand scale,” saying that it should be used to punish “tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of individuals nationwide.” He wrote that gang members, drug dealers, sex offenders, and the “permanent underclass, the lifelong petty criminal who refuses to contribute to society” should all face the death penalty.

“These people are a parasitical drain upon not only the United States as a whole, but also upon the good order and discipline of its citizens,” Army wrote in the article. “The swift and visible execution of these individuals is not only a moral good, insofar as it pays the moral debt owed to the victim(s), but it is also a societal good, because it permanently and publicly removes their malignant influence upon the social order.”

Toward the end of the piece, Army proposed death by firing squad or hanging as the most cost-effective and humane ways to implement his plan.

A 100 piece Hannukah puzzle with little of little pictures

The outside of the Uniqlo in DC's Union Station being guarded by 4 incredibly poor but looking national guard members. One is behind the big pole.