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Federal Medical Center, Butner

Coordinates: 36°08′15″N 78°48′49″W / 36.13753°N 78.81368°W / 36.13753; -78.81368
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Federal Medical Center, Butner
Map
LocationDurham County, North Carolina
Coordinates36°08′15″N 78°48′49″W / 36.13753°N 78.81368°W / 36.13753; -78.81368
StatusOperational
Security classAll security levels (with adjacent camp for minimum-security inmates)
Population775 (June 2023)
Opened1995
Managed byFederal Bureau of Prisons

The Federal Medical Center, Butner (FMC Butner), is a United States federal prison opened in 1995[1] in North Carolina for male inmates of all security levels who have special health needs. It is part of the Butner Federal Correctional Complex and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. An adjacent satellite prison camp houses minimum-security male inmates.

It is located in Mangum Township,[2] Durham County, North Carolina,[3] near Butner.[4]

FMC Butner is located near the Research Triangle area of Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill.[5]

Facility and programs

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FMC Butner has a full hospital facility specializing in oncology and behavioral science. Many medical and surgical specialties hold clinics and perform procedures at the FMC. It has the only residential program devoted to the treatment of individuals convicted of sexual offenses in the federal prison system.

In 2009 Philip Fornaci, the director of the DC Prisoners' Project, stated that FMC Butner, along with FMC Carswell and FMC Rochester, "are clearly the 'gold standard' in terms of what BOP facilities can achieve in providing medical care" and that they had provided "excellent medical care, sometimes for extremely complex medical needs."[6] However, in 2021, the Bureau of Prison's accreditation from the Joint Commission lapsed, raising concerns of a decline in the quality of medical care.[7]

A 2023 NPR investigation found that from 2009-2020, roughly a quarter of all deaths in federal prisons occurred at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex.[7] Due to bureaucratic delays in diagnoses and referrals, prisoners often arrive at FMC Butner with terminal conditions, only eligible for palliative care and compassionate release, despite the 1976 US Supreme Court case Estelle v. Gamble guaranteeing prisoners Eighth Amendment rights against deliberate indifference to their medical needs.[8] Furthermore, vacancies in over 20% of nurse and paramedic positions at FMC Butner were linked to staff shortages and burnout.[7]

Butner study

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In 2009, a study conducted by psychologists Michael Bourke and Andres Hernandez was published in the Journal of Family Violence. The results suggested a strong link between viewing child pornography and sexual abuse. The findings went against the conventional and widely held belief that a person passively viewing child pornography had an insignificant causal link with that person actually molesting a child.[9]

In what is known as the "Butner Study," Bourke and Hernandez analyzed data on 155 men convicted of child pornography offenses, who took part in an 18-month treatment program between 2002 and 2005, during which the men filled out assessment measures including a "victims list," where they revealed the number of children they had molested in the past.

74% of the men denied molesting anyone when they were sentenced. However, by the end of treatment, 85% had admitted to sexually molesting a child at least once. The numbers are more than twice that of other studies. In explaining this discrepancy, Bourke said, "Our treatment team worked for an average of 18 months with each offender, and the environment was one of genuine therapeutic trust" that encouraged the men to tell the truth about themselves.[10]

A critique of the study is that the use of a population of participants in the most intensive sex offender treatment program offered in the federal prison system skewed the sample. Offenders had to have received at least a thirty-six-month sentence to be eligible for the program. Melissa Hamilton argues, "These offenders may well, then, have represented particularly dangerous offenders who were a high risk to children since they had been prosecuted, convicted, given more than minimal prison sentences, and accepted into the limited-space program because of a perceived need by themselves and program clinicians for a lengthy and intensive residential program."[11]

Notable inmates

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Current

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Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Russell Weston Jr. 22372-016 Being held indefinitely; the Bureau of Prisons lists his status as "Hospital Treatment Completed." Responsible for the 1998 United States Capitol shooting, during which he fatally shot Detective John Gibson and Officer Jacob Chestnut of the US Capitol Police and wounded a tourist. Weston was subsequently ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial.[12]
John Russell Whitt 19945-057 Currently serving a federal prison sentence for robbery. Pled guilty on January 15, 2020, to two charges of second degree murder and two charges of concealment of death and was sentenced to 26 to 32 years for each murder, to be served consecutively after he completes his sentence in federal prison for robbery in 2037.
Mohammad Shibin 78207-083 Serving life sentence. Somali pirate leader; convicted in 2012 of piracy, kidnapping, and hostage-taking for acting as a ransom negotiator during the hijacking of the civilian vessel Quest in 2010 and the oil tanker Miranda Marguerite in 2011; Shibin is the highest-ranking pirate ever prosecuted.[13][14]

Former

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Inmate Name Register Number Photo Status Details
Mike DeBardeleben 09671-074 Died while in custody. Kidnapper, rapist, counterfeiter, and suspected serial killer.[15]
James von Brunn 07128-016 Died at FMC Butner while awaiting trial in 2010. White supremacist and Holocaust denier who perpetrated the 2009 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting, during which Museum Security Guard Stephen T. Johns was killed.[16]
Frank Calabrese Sr. 49955-079 Died at FMC Butner in 2012 while serving a life sentence. Hitman for the Chicago Outfit Mafia organization; arrested as part of Operation Family Secrets; convicted in 2007 of racketeering conspiracy for directing and engaging in Mafia activities including murder, extortion and loansharking.[17][18]
Salvatore DiMasi 27371-038 Served an 8-year sentence; released November 22, 2016. Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2004 to 2009; convicted in 2011 of conspiracy, honest services fraud and extortion for steering contracts to the software company Cognos in exchange for $65,000 in kickbacks.[19]
Omar Abdel-Rahman 34892-054 Served a life sentence under the name Omar Ahmad Rahman until his death on February 18, 2017.[20] Leader of the terrorist organization al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya; convicted in 1995 of seditious conspiracy for masterminding a foiled plot to bomb high-profile targets in New York City, as well as conspiring to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.[21][22]
Tony Alamo 00305-112 Served a 175-year sentence under his actual name, Bernie Lazar Hoffman, until his death on May 2, 2017.[23] Cult leader from Arkansas; convicted in 2009 of ten counts of transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes for using his influence to force children as young as 8 into marriages and sexual relationships.[24][25][26]
Tom Manning 10373-016 Died at USP Hazelton in 2019. Member of the United Freedom Front, a Marxist group which carried out bank robberies and bombings at corporate buildings, courthouses and military facilities in the 1970s and 1980s; convicted of the 1981 murder of NJ State Trooper Philip Lomonaco.[27]
Harry Bowman 26595-039 Deceased March 2019 President of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club; convicted in 2001 of directing a racketeering enterprise which engaged in drug trafficking, extortion, murders and bombings; one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives until his capture in 1999.[28][29]
James Leon Guerrero 03744-045 Now at ADX Florence Pleaded guilty to murdering Federal Correctional Officer Jose Rivera at the United States Penitentiary, Atwater on June 20, 2008; accomplice Jose Cabrera-Sablan also pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence.[30]
Joshua Ryne Goldberg 63197-018 Transferred to FCI Sandstone; released on April 1, 2024.[31] Pleaded guilty to attempting to bomb a Kansas City, Missouri 9/11 memorial event in 2015 while posing as an ISIS supporter.[32][33]
Bernie Madoff 61727-054 Died at FMC Butner in April 2021, while serving a 150-year sentence. Securities fraud, investment advisor fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, false statements, perjury, making false filings with the SEC, theft from an employee benefit plan
Joe Exotic 26154-017 Serving a 21-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2036. Transferred back to FMC Fort Worth Convicted in 2019 of animal abuse (eight violations of the Lacey Act and nine of the Endangered Species Act) and two counts of attempted murder for hire.[34]
Theodore Kaczynski 04475-046 Archived 2012-09-19 at the Wayback Machine Died at FMC Butner in June 2023, while serving 8 life sentences. Reportedly committed suicide.[35] Known as the Unabomber; pleaded guilty in 1998 to building, transporting, and mailing explosives to carry out 16 bombings from 1978 to 1995 in a mail bombing campaign targeting those involved with modern technology, which killed 3 people and injured 23 others.[36][37][38]
Amine El Khalifi 79748-083 Serving a 30 year sentence; scheduled for release in 2037. Currently at FCI Williamsburg. Convicted in 2012 for plotting to carry out a suicide bombing attack on the United States Capitol Building.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Federal Correctional Complex, Butner (FCI Butner Medium I)".
  2. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Mangum township, NC" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 2 (PDF p. 3/3). Retrieved 2022-08-15. Butner Federal Correctional Complex
  3. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Durham County, NC" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 6 (PDF p. 7/19). Retrieved 2024-07-18. Butner Federal Correctional Complex - Cross-check the map with the exact prison location (the map directly specifies the whole complex but not where the exact FMC Butner facility is).
  4. ^ "Official Zoning Map" (PDF). Butner, North Carolina. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-04-15. - FMC Butner is not in the Butner city limits.
  5. ^ "BOP: FMC Butner". Bop.gov. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  6. ^ Fornaci, Philip (Director of the DC Prisoners' Project). "Federal Bureau of Prisons Oversight Hearing Archived 2016-09-07 at the Wayback Machine" (Archive). Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. July 21, 2009. Retrieved on February 5, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Anderson, Meg (23 September 2023). "1 in 4 Inmate Deaths Happens in the Same Federal Prison. Why?". NPR. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  8. ^ Alsan, Marcella; Yang, Crystal S.; Jolin, James R.; Tu, Lucy; Rich, Josiah D. (2 March 2023). "Health Care in U.S. Correctional Facilities — A Limited and Threatened Constitutional Right". The New England Journal of Medicine. 388 (9): 847–852. doi:10.1056/NEJMms2211252. PMID 36856624.
  9. ^ Sher, Julian; Carey, Benedict (2007-07-19). "Debate on Child Pornography's Link to Molesting". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  10. ^ "Porn use and child abuse". Apa.org. 2007-07-19. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  11. ^ Hamilton, Melissa (April 2012). "The Child Pornography Crusade and Its Net-Widening Effect". Cardozo Law Review. 33 (1679).
  12. ^ "Judge Rules Capitol Gunman Can Be Forced to Take Medicine". Newyorktimes.com. 2002-08-03. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  13. ^ "Somali pirates face hard time in US prison". BBC News. 3 October 2011.
  14. ^ [1] Archived 15 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Sex Criminal DeBardeleben Dies, Book Chronicles His Crimes | Authorlink". 15 June 2023.
  16. ^ Wilber, Del Quentin (January 7, 2010). "Von Brunn, white supremacist Holocaust museum shooter, dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  17. ^ "Chicago mob hitman Frank Calabrese dies in federal prison". Fox News. 2012-12-27.
  18. ^ Coen, Jeff (2009-01-29). "Mob hit man gets life in Family Secrets case". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011.
  19. ^ "FORMER SPEAKER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND LOBBYIST SENTENCED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES". US Department of Justice. September 9, 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  20. ^ Blind sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, linked to 1993 World Trade Center bombing, dies at 78
  21. ^ Fried, Joseph P. (1995-10-02). "THE TERROR CONSPIRACY: THE OVERVIEW;SHEIK AND 9 FOLLOWERS GUILTY OF A CONSPIRACY OF TERRORISM". The New York Times.
  22. ^ "'Supermax' prison awaits Moussaoui". BBC News. 2006-05-04.
  23. ^ "Former Evangelist Receives 175-Year Sentence for Sexual Exploitation Offenses".
  24. ^ "Evangelist guilty of taking minors across state lines for sex". CNN. July 24, 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  25. ^ "Evangelist Tony Alamo Sentenced to 175 Years for Taking Girls Across State Lines for Sex". Fox News. November 13, 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  26. ^ Gambrell, John (November 13, 2009). "Tony Alamo, Evangelist, Sentenced To 175 Years For Sex Crimes". Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  27. ^ "New Jersey State Police - History - 1980's". State.nj.us. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  28. ^ "WHITE PRISON GANGS: Harry Bowman Outlaws MC". Whiteprisongangs.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  29. ^ Leisner, Pat. "Outlaw Biker Gets Life - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  30. ^ Doyle, Michael (March 7, 2014). "Inmate in Atwater penitentiary murder will get life in plea deal". Merced Sun-Star. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  31. ^ https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ search as of April 6, 2024
  32. ^ "Clay County man enters guilty plea to bomb charge". Clay Today. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  33. ^ "American Jewish 'online troll' arrested in alleged Kansas City 9/11 memorial bomb plot". The Jerusalem Post. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  34. ^ "'Tiger King' Joe Exotic moved to North Carolina facility". ABC News. Associated Press. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  35. ^ "'Unabomber' Ted Kaczynski dies in prison aged 81". 11 June 2023.
  36. ^ "Unabomber Guilty Plea". Undueinfluence.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  37. ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (April 4, 1996). "ON THE UNABOMBER'S TRACK: THE VICTIMS;At the Places Where Bombs Killed, a Day for Memories and Nervous Optimism". The New York Times.
  38. ^ Polus, Sarah (23 December 2021). "'Unabomber' Ted Kaczynski, 79, moved to prison medical facility". The Hill.
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