Mr. Gabrial Lobato was waiting at USP Lewisburg, a United States Penitentiary, in preparation for a program intended to disassociate him from gang activity and place him in an institution for non-active gang members. Mr. Lobato was accepted, and agreed, to participate in the Debrief Program, created by the National Gang Unit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which “affords gang affiliated inmates the opportunity to voluntarily and officially disassociate from their respective gang”. Rather than interview Mr. Lobato and place him in a housing unit set aside for the program, he was instead locked away in the Segregated Housing Unit (SHU), otherwise known as solitary confinement, for six months without explanation. Despite Lewisburg staff forcing him to wait over half a year in the wrong unit, the Debrief Program was terminated at Lewisburg and would supposedly resume at USP Allenwood, a maximum security prison.
On August 22, 2024, Mr. Lobato arrived at USP Allenwood and was immediately placed into solitary confinement again, without any charge or justification. Mr. Lobato was unable to reach out to the Remedy Project and notify us of his transfer and of the poor conditions at Allenwood until his property was finally returned to him three months later. These conditions are not faced by Mr. Lobato alone; while detailing his arbitrary confinement, he revealed that “the warden has us all in the SHU.” Incarcerated people, both at USP Allenwood and nationwide, are left in the dark by the BOP, moved from prison to prison, unsure of when they will be able to escape the punishment of solitary confinement. Allenwood staff are aware they are violating Mr. Lobato’s rights, including SHU Lieutenant Akley, who admitted Gabrial and other imprisoned people are not supposed to remain in the SHU for more than a week. Adding insult to his isolation, he is limited to one phone call a month, and access to food, email, and education is restricted. Despite having done nothing wrong, the BOP has subjected Mr. Lobato to continuous isolation for over twelve months, with no news or knowledge of the program that he himself chose to participate in, and with no end in sight. Mr. Lobato’s health continues to be at risk as his basic rights to proper food and communication are violated and reduced.
With few options left, Mr. Lobato intended to send a BP-9 form, also known as an administrative remedy, addressing his situation directly to the prison warden. However, his case manager, Mr. Emerick, refused to send it. Perhaps Mr. Emerick and the warden refuse to read his remedy because they know that their relentless abuse towards Mr. Lobato is considered torture under international law, or perhaps they know that it violates the 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. What they do know is that it blatantly violates the BOP’s own rules, which requires staff to provide a reason for detention, allow the imprisoned person to submit a formal grievance to challenge the detention through an administrative remedy, and provide adequate food and communications.
Mr. Lobato’s confinement and isolation has been justified by USP Allenwood on the grounds that there is a “staff shortage” for the Debrief Program, a dubious claim given funds and a separate housing unit were explicitly allocated for the program. Regardless of how many staff members Allenwood hires, they should never place human beings in subhuman conditions. However, this is exactly what is happening every day while the BOP lies and hopes no one will notice. Allowing this flimsy justification to go unchallenged only emboldens the BOP to prolong Gabrial’s time in the SHU, which will be used to arbitrarily penalize other incarcerated people. The real reason Mr. Lobato’s rights are violated as he remains in a solitary limbo is simple; Gabrial stresses that “this has turned into a punishment.” What is most revealing about the BOP’s refusal to bring Mr. Lobato out of the SHU and into his program is that, instead of facilitating his “successful return to the community”, it counterproductively prevents his successful disassociation from his gang.
Among the many contradictions that plague the crisis that is the U.S. prison system, punishment roots itself at the core, with no rehabilitative purpose; rather, it seeks to reduce human beings to animals. We all know from Gabrial’s struggle that the Bureau of Prisons prioritizes the punishment of incarcerated people over their rehabilitation. The result is the deprivation of incarcerated people’s basic rights, not just by international human rights law, not just by the rights granted to citizens in the 8th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but also by the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ own standards. The fact that Mr. Lobato has remained in solitary for more than a year is demonstrative of the prison system's utter contempt and disregard for its prisoners. To call this a failure of the Bureau of Prisons would ignore the fact that the people responsible for his confinement are aware of the illegality of their actions. The BOP’s mistreatment of Gabrial is criminal, not accidental.
The time Gabrial is spending in solitary confinement is time he will never get back, yet he still has his freedom to gain. The BOP thinks it can get away with the abuse of incarcerated people because they think no one will be watching; unfortunately for them, those days are over. As a result of our advocacy, Gabrial was finally accepted into the Debrief Program and processed for a transfer and sent to FCI Tucson, where he is now. But he will never get the 16 months back that he spent in limbo, confusion, and traumatic isolation. Share his story to expose the BOP and their arbitrary punishment and mistreatment. We must demand that the Board of Prisons abolish all forms of torture. Show Gabrial and the thousands of other people like him that they are not alone.
Mr. Gabrial Lobato was waiting at USP Lewisburg, a United States Penitentiary, in preparation for a program intended to disassociate him from gang activity and place him in an institution for non-active gang members. Mr. Lobato was accepted, and agreed, to participate in the Debrief Program, created by the National Gang Unit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which “affords gang affiliated inmates the opportunity to voluntarily and officially disassociate from their respective gang”. Rather than interview Mr. Lobato and place him in a housing unit set aside for the program, he was instead locked away in the Segregated Housing Unit (SHU), otherwise known as solitary confinement, for six months without explanation. Despite Lewisburg staff forcing him to wait over half a year in the wrong unit, the Debrief Program was terminated at Lewisburg and would supposedly resume at USP Allenwood, a maximum security prison.
On August 22, 2024, Mr. Lobato arrived at USP Allenwood and was immediately placed into solitary confinement again, without any charge or justification. Mr. Lobato was unable to reach out to the Remedy Project and notify us of his transfer and of the poor conditions at Allenwood until his property was finally returned to him three months later. These conditions are not faced by Mr. Lobato alone; while detailing his arbitrary confinement, he revealed that “the warden has us all in the SHU.” Incarcerated people, both at USP Allenwood and nationwide, are left in the dark by the BOP, moved from prison to prison, unsure of when they will be able to escape the punishment of solitary confinement. Allenwood staff are aware they are violating Mr. Lobato’s rights, including SHU Lieutenant Akley, who admitted Gabrial and other imprisoned people are not supposed to remain in the SHU for more than a week. Adding insult to his isolation, he is limited to one phone call a month, and access to food, email, and education is restricted. Despite having done nothing wrong, the BOP has subjected Mr. Lobato to continuous isolation for over twelve months, with no news or knowledge of the program that he himself chose to participate in, and with no end in sight. Mr. Lobato’s health continues to be at risk as his basic rights to proper food and communication are violated and reduced.
With few options left, Mr. Lobato intended to send a BP-9 form, also known as an administrative remedy, addressing his situation directly to the prison warden. However, his case manager, Mr. Emerick, refused to send it. Perhaps Mr. Emerick and the warden refuse to read his remedy because they know that their relentless abuse towards Mr. Lobato is considered torture under international law, or perhaps they know that it violates the 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. What they do know is that it blatantly violates the BOP’s own rules, which requires staff to provide a reason for detention, allow the imprisoned person to submit a formal grievance to challenge the detention through an administrative remedy, and provide adequate food and communications.
Mr. Lobato’s confinement and isolation has been justified by USP Allenwood on the grounds that there is a “staff shortage” for the Debrief Program, a dubious claim given funds and a separate housing unit were explicitly allocated for the program. Regardless of how many staff members Allenwood hires, they should never place human beings in subhuman conditions. However, this is exactly what is happening every day while the BOP lies and hopes no one will notice. Allowing this flimsy justification to go unchallenged only emboldens the BOP to prolong Gabrial’s time in the SHU, which will be used to arbitrarily penalize other incarcerated people. The real reason Mr. Lobato’s rights are violated as he remains in a solitary limbo is simple; Gabrial stresses that “this has turned into a punishment.” What is most revealing about the BOP’s refusal to bring Mr. Lobato out of the SHU and into his program is that, instead of facilitating his “successful return to the community”, it counterproductively prevents his successful disassociation from his gang.
Among the many contradictions that plague the crisis that is the U.S. prison system, punishment roots itself at the core, with no rehabilitative purpose; rather, it seeks to reduce human beings to animals. We all know from Gabrial’s struggle that the Bureau of Prisons prioritizes the punishment of incarcerated people over their rehabilitation. The result is the deprivation of incarcerated people’s basic rights, not just by international human rights law, not just by the rights granted to citizens in the 8th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but also by the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ own standards. The fact that Mr. Lobato has remained in solitary for more than a year is demonstrative of the prison system's utter contempt and disregard for its prisoners. To call this a failure of the Bureau of Prisons would ignore the fact that the people responsible for his confinement are aware of the illegality of their actions. The BOP’s mistreatment of Gabrial is criminal, not accidental.
The time Gabrial is spending in solitary confinement is time he will never get back, yet he still has his freedom to gain. The BOP thinks it can get away with the abuse of incarcerated people because they think no one will be watching; unfortunately for them, those days are over. As a result of our advocacy, Gabrial was finally accepted into the Debrief Program and processed for a transfer and sent to FCI Tucson, where he is now. But he will never get the 16 months back that he spent in limbo, confusion, and traumatic isolation. Share his story to expose the BOP and their arbitrary punishment and mistreatment. We must demand that the Board of Prisons abolish all forms of torture. Show Gabrial and the thousands of other people like him that they are not alone.
