A group of condemned prisoners whose lives were spared by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. are now suing the federal government, arguing that Trump administration officials are unfairly trying to transfer them to one of the country’s harshest federal prisons.
The 21 men who joined the lawsuit are among 37 prisoners who had their death sentences commuted by Mr. Biden in one of his last acts in office. They are currently being held at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., where the federal government has long held death row prisoners and where Mr. Trump had 13 prisoners executed during his first term in office.
Now, they say, the Trump administration is carrying out a “sham process” to move them to the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colo., often referred to as A.D.X. It is considered the most restrictive federal prison in the nation and the only federal “supermax” prison; experts and former prisoners have described being held there as living in nearly complete isolation.
The proposed transfer follows a series of events that began with Mr. Biden canceling the death sentences of all but three prisoners on federal death row in December, converting 37 of them to terms of life in prison. On Jan. 20, the day Mr. Trump began his second term, he issued an executive order urging his incoming attorney general to pursue the death penalty for offenses severe enough to warrant it and to encourage prosecutors across the country to do so as well.
Key to the prisoners’ new lawsuit, in January Mr. Trump also ordered his incoming attorney general to “evaluate the places of imprisonment” for those whose sentences were commuted by Mr. Biden and ensure that they are “imprisoned in conditions consistent with the monstrosity of their crimes and the threats they pose.”
In February, a day after Pam Bondi was confirmed as attorney general, she issued a memo directing the Bureau of Prisons to evaluate where the prisoners Mr. Biden had commuted should be held.
The lawyers for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit said that, before Ms. Bondi’s memo, prison officials had made a determination for most of the former death row prisoners that they should not be moved to Florence. Among them, the lawyers said, are men who have psychiatric problems and have tried to kill themselves, as well as others who have medical problems requiring facilities with better accommodations.
The Colorado prison, intended for prisoners who pose a high security risk, is known for its harsh conditions. Lawyers for the men said prisoners “spend 22 to 24 hours a day locked alone in small cells built expressly for severe sensory deprivation and to minimize any human contact, including contact with prison staff.” The prisoners held there are also limited in their contact with the outside world; lawyers said they are given one hour of telephone calls each month versus five hours a month at other federal prisons.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and the prisoners are represented by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and several other groups. They accuse the Trump administration of violating the Constitution, including its prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishments.”
In their complaint, the lawyers said they understood that the Bureau of Prisons could begin moving the men from Indiana to the Colorado prison as early as next week. They have asked the court to stop any transfers from taking place until a judge can weigh the merits of their claims.
At a hearing on Thursday, a lawyer for the federal government said it was unlikely that any prisoners would be transferred next week, but that he could not guarantee that they would not be.
Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was appointed by Mr. Trump in 2017, scheduled another hearing for Friday morning to consider the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order to halt any transfers. He said that hearing could be moved to Monday if the government represents that no prisoners will be moved before then.
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on national stories across the United States with a focus on criminal justice. He is from upstate New York.
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