In this campaign, we focus on the case of an individual who has endured severe physical pain and limited mobility as a result of being denied proper medical attention after an accident while incarcerated. Despite repeated pleas for care and attempts to hold the responsible institutions accountable, his suffering has been exacerbated by retaliation from the very staff entrusted with his well-being. His experience is a glaring example of the spanning systemic injustices in our carceral system.
In November 2023, Abdul Howard slipped and fell in the kitchen at USP Atwater and did not receive treatment for nearly two months – despite severely injuring his neck and spine. Slowly, due to a lack of proper care, Abdul Howard lost the ability to walk, became paralyzed in his hands, and suffered from shooting pain down his arms. After two months, he was issued a walker, but Mr. Howard remains in constant debilitating pain and continues to suffer from loss of movement, weakness, and numbness.
Mr. Howard fears that his condition will worsen the longer it is untreated. Staff at USP Atwater failed to provide Mr. Howard with the necessary and required medical care and he was transferred to USP McCreary before he had the chance to speak up about his negligence at USP Atwater. The neglect continued at USP McCreary. The medical staff at USP McCreary claimed that they saw Mr. Howard on May 18th, 2024, and prescribed him pain medication, even though Mr. Howard did not transfer to USP McCreary until May 21st. In addition to this blatant falsification of medical records, employed to create a facade of care that simply did not take place, when Mr. Howard finally received care on May 28th, he was confronted with blatant disrespect and disregard for his personhood and rightful plea for medical care. None of Howard’s issues were addressed at this appointment, and while he was waiting, a nurse told Mr. Howard he could “lay down and die, I don’t care or give a fuck.”
Instead of treating Mr. Howard with respect and giving him the medical care he needs and is legally entitled to, the medical staff violated and ridiculed Mr. Howard’s requests. The medical staff violated BOP Handbook requirements and Program Statements and the Hippocratic oath, a physician’s obligation to help and cure their fellow human beings. Medical staff at USP McCreary and Atwater violated their sacred codes as physicians and human beings in service to one another. Abdul Howard remains without the necessary medical care, in constant debilitating pain because of the negligent practices undergone at both USP Atwater and, subsequently USP McCreary. In addition to the worsened medical state Mr. Howard finds himself in, causing rapid and life-threatening impacts limiting his mobility, Mr. Howard lives in fear that medical staff will continue to retaliate against him for advocating for his basic rights to health and well-being.
It is incredibly difficult to advocate for yourself in a setting where you are constantly subjugated to belittling and persistent abuse; it is far more challenging to do so in a setting that is premised on your health and well-being – in a doctor's office. The oath utilized by virtually all medical schools promises a physician’s obligation to do everything possible to prevent or cure their fellow human beings from illness and injury. Actively exploiting your position as medical staff to perpetuate injury and physical debilitation is an abuse of the profession and the rightful duty you have as a human being. Instead of continuing to petition for the basic rights Mr. Howard is entitled to (and shouldn’t be imploring for in the first place), he is fearful that medical staff will retaliate against him and worsen his condition rather than their rightful duty to remedy his pain.
Join us in demanding justice for Abdul Howard, which includes the proper medical care to treat his neck and spine injury, including seeing a qualified neurosurgeon and holding staff accountable for their medical neglect and retaliatory actions against him. We are requesting your support in Abdul Howard’s request for just compensation for his ongoing pain, suffering, and deliberative indifference at the hands of the medical staff at USP Atwater and USP McCreary.
In this campaign, we focus on the case of an individual who has endured severe physical pain and limited mobility as a result of being denied proper medical attention after an accident while incarcerated. Despite repeated pleas for care and attempts to hold the responsible institutions accountable, his suffering has been exacerbated by retaliation from the very staff entrusted with his well-being. His experience is a glaring example of the spanning systemic injustices in our carceral system.
In November 2023, Abdul Howard slipped and fell in the kitchen at USP Atwater and did not receive treatment for nearly two months – despite severely injuring his neck and spine. Slowly, due to a lack of proper care, Abdul Howard lost the ability to walk, became paralyzed in his hands, and suffered from shooting pain down his arms. After two months, he was issued a walker, but Mr. Howard remains in constant debilitating pain and continues to suffer from loss of movement, weakness, and numbness.
Mr. Howard fears that his condition will worsen the longer it is untreated. Staff at USP Atwater failed to provide Mr. Howard with the necessary and required medical care and he was transferred to USP McCreary before he had the chance to speak up about his negligence at USP Atwater. The neglect continued at USP McCreary. The medical staff at USP McCreary claimed that they saw Mr. Howard on May 18th, 2024, and prescribed him pain medication, even though Mr. Howard did not transfer to USP McCreary until May 21st. In addition to this blatant falsification of medical records, employed to create a facade of care that simply did not take place, when Mr. Howard finally received care on May 28th, he was confronted with blatant disrespect and disregard for his personhood and rightful plea for medical care. None of Howard’s issues were addressed at this appointment, and while he was waiting, a nurse told Mr. Howard he could “lay down and die, I don’t care or give a fuck.”
Instead of treating Mr. Howard with respect and giving him the medical care he needs and is legally entitled to, the medical staff violated and ridiculed Mr. Howard’s requests. The medical staff violated BOP Handbook requirements and Program Statements and the Hippocratic oath, a physician’s obligation to help and cure their fellow human beings. Medical staff at USP McCreary and Atwater violated their sacred codes as physicians and human beings in service to one another. Abdul Howard remains without the necessary medical care, in constant debilitating pain because of the negligent practices undergone at both USP Atwater and, subsequently USP McCreary. In addition to the worsened medical state Mr. Howard finds himself in, causing rapid and life-threatening impacts limiting his mobility, Mr. Howard lives in fear that medical staff will continue to retaliate against him for advocating for his basic rights to health and well-being.
It is incredibly difficult to advocate for yourself in a setting where you are constantly subjugated to belittling and persistent abuse; it is far more challenging to do so in a setting that is premised on your health and well-being – in a doctor's office. The oath utilized by virtually all medical schools promises a physician’s obligation to do everything possible to prevent or cure their fellow human beings from illness and injury. Actively exploiting your position as medical staff to perpetuate injury and physical debilitation is an abuse of the profession and the rightful duty you have as a human being. Instead of continuing to petition for the basic rights Mr. Howard is entitled to (and shouldn’t be imploring for in the first place), he is fearful that medical staff will retaliate against him and worsen his condition rather than their rightful duty to remedy his pain.
Join us in demanding justice for Abdul Howard, which includes the proper medical care to treat his neck and spine injury, including seeing a qualified neurosurgeon and holding staff accountable for their medical neglect and retaliatory actions against him. We are requesting your support in Abdul Howard’s request for just compensation for his ongoing pain, suffering, and deliberative indifference at the hands of the medical staff at USP Atwater and USP McCreary.
