FCI Butner Medium II is guilty of deliberately creating a hostile environment for Harold Smith and his visitors. In January of 2025, after a 5 hour drive to visit Mr. Smith, his sister (Linda Smith) and her friend, were forced to conduct their visit in a facility with no heat, and no access to food or a bathroom.
Not only was Harold Smith expected to see his guests in a room that was incredibly cold in only a short-sleeved jumpsuit, the guards overseeing the visiting area were dressed in winter coats, boots, and hats. One guard even made a joke about how they deliberately do not turn on the heating so that family member visits will end faster. On top of the unmanageable temperatures in the visiting area, the vending machines were out of order. This caused Mr. Smith’s sister’s diabetic friend to almost pass out due to the lack of access to food. Moreover, the bathrooms in the visiting area were closed off, which forced Mr. Smith’s guests to leave prematurely.
The staff at FCI Butner Medium II is treating Mr. Smith and his guests (and all the incarcerated people and their visitors to FCI Butner Medium II) inhumanely by creating a hostile environment to intentionally shorten the duration of visits. The staff is in violation of Mr. Smith’s right to “visit and correspond with family members and friends” and, exacerbated by Mr. Smith’s age and condition, his right to “a safe, clean and healthy environment.”
Furthermore, by deliberately creating a freezing visiting area and failing to provide visitors access to food and a bathroom, the staff at FCI Butner Medium II is also failing to fulfill their required duty of ensuring “that the visiting area is as comfortable and pleasant as practicable.” They treat Mr. Smith’s life like it is a game, destroying his only opportunity to connect with the outside world.
On top of this horrible experience during visitation, Mr. Smith is experiencing extreme medical neglect. Mr. Smith has celiac disease, and although the staff is well aware of his requirement for gluten-free meals, they aren’t giving him any. He is under-fed and anemic, which is further complicated by his history of heart and breathing issues. He and his family are deeply concerned for his well-being, and they can’t even visit with him long enough to express their care.
Since he submitted The Remedy Project’s BP-8s (the first step in the administrative remedy process) on these issues, he has been experiencing retaliation from the staff. Here is a message we received from Harold in February of 2025.
“Hello, it has been 17 days now since I filed the BP8 you prepared for me. I have repeadily asked for a response or the BP8 back signed and dated without success… If you received my many emails you know I have a lot of issues that are being ignored by this facility. In fact, I feel that I have been retaliated against because of my many complaints. I say that because I have been drug tested 3 times in the past 4 months. According to them they are random which I don't believe, because there are people here that have never been tested in 5 or 6 years. Of course I have nothing to fear in that area because I don't do drugs. I do feel it is harrasment tho. That's the latest from here. Thanks again for your help and concern!!!”
We need to let FCI Butner Medium II that we are paying attention. Take action on behalf of Mr. Smith and his family now and demand his legal rights to basic health, safety, and dignity.
We must fight for better! We must fight for justice! ACT NOW!
FCI Butner Medium II is guilty of deliberately creating a hostile environment for Harold Smith and his visitors. In January of 2025, after a 5 hour drive to visit Mr. Smith, his sister (Linda Smith) and her friend, were forced to conduct their visit in a facility with no heat, and no access to food or a bathroom.
Not only was Harold Smith expected to see his guests in a room that was incredibly cold in only a short-sleeved jumpsuit, the guards overseeing the visiting area were dressed in winter coats, boots, and hats. One guard even made a joke about how they deliberately do not turn on the heating so that family member visits will end faster. On top of the unmanageable temperatures in the visiting area, the vending machines were out of order. This caused Mr. Smith’s sister’s diabetic friend to almost pass out due to the lack of access to food. Moreover, the bathrooms in the visiting area were closed off, which forced Mr. Smith’s guests to leave prematurely.
The staff at FCI Butner Medium II is treating Mr. Smith and his guests (and all the incarcerated people and their visitors to FCI Butner Medium II) inhumanely by creating a hostile environment to intentionally shorten the duration of visits. The staff is in violation of Mr. Smith’s right to “visit and correspond with family members and friends” and, exacerbated by Mr. Smith’s age and condition, his right to “a safe, clean and healthy environment.”
Furthermore, by deliberately creating a freezing visiting area and failing to provide visitors access to food and a bathroom, the staff at FCI Butner Medium II is also failing to fulfill their required duty of ensuring “that the visiting area is as comfortable and pleasant as practicable.” They treat Mr. Smith’s life like it is a game, destroying his only opportunity to connect with the outside world.
On top of this horrible experience during visitation, Mr. Smith is experiencing extreme medical neglect. Mr. Smith has celiac disease, and although the staff is well aware of his requirement for gluten-free meals, they aren’t giving him any. He is under-fed and anemic, which is further complicated by his history of heart and breathing issues. He and his family are deeply concerned for his well-being, and they can’t even visit with him long enough to express their care.
Since he submitted The Remedy Project’s BP-8s (the first step in the administrative remedy process) on these issues, he has been experiencing retaliation from the staff. Here is a message we received from Harold in February of 2025.
“Hello, it has been 17 days now since I filed the BP8 you prepared for me. I have repeadily asked for a response or the BP8 back signed and dated without success… If you received my many emails you know I have a lot of issues that are being ignored by this facility. In fact, I feel that I have been retaliated against because of my many complaints. I say that because I have been drug tested 3 times in the past 4 months. According to them they are random which I don't believe, because there are people here that have never been tested in 5 or 6 years. Of course I have nothing to fear in that area because I don't do drugs. I do feel it is harrasment tho. That's the latest from here. Thanks again for your help and concern!!!”
We need to let FCI Butner Medium II that we are paying attention. Take action on behalf of Mr. Smith and his family now and demand his legal rights to basic health, safety, and dignity.
We must fight for better! We must fight for justice! ACT NOW!
