The Federal Medical Center (FMC) Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, is a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility that provides specialized medical and mental health services to female offenders. FMC Carswell is located in the northeast corner of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (formerly Carswell Air Force Base).[1] Its address is Building 3000 along J Street.[2] The facility, which houses approximately 1,400 inmates, is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the American Correctional Association. It is the only medical facility for women in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.[3]
Although most inmates at this facility have some form of medical condition requiring treatment, there is also a general population of inmates at FMC Carswell who do not. Carswell houses the two women who are currently under federal death sentences. FMC Carswell has an administrative high security unit,[4] which houses women in the BOP system who are classified as "special management concerns" due to violence and/or escape attempts.[5]
There is a Federal Prison Industries UNICOR program at Carswell i.e. a Call Center, which employs inmates on 411-type directory assistance inquiries.
The prison has undergone various changes since 1995: the parking lot formerly situated at the south end has been moved to the northwest end, which is overlooked by a large water-tower standing just outside the razor wire perimeter. A running track and a baseball field surrounded by trees have been constructed at the southwest corner. The main facility itself is a large structure of interconnecting buildings, typical of a hospital complex.
The prison is surrounded by two separate fences with a gap of approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) between them. Measuring approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) high, each chain-link fence is reinforced with multiple coils of long-barb razor wire fixed at the top and bottom.
The prison's main entrance is on the northwest end, and there is a second entrance on the south end, which contains a guard post and two gates. Finally, there is a third entrance in the north which contains two gates. Outside the razor-wire perimeter in the south are two large buildings which are either warehouses or vehicle storage areas.
Security systems include door control, telephone, LAN radio, intercom/paging, video surveillance, nurse call, intrusion detection, perimeter security and master-antenna-television.
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Articles criticizing FMC Carswell have appeared in various media outlets relating to various forms of prisoner abuse. These articles focus on allegations of medical malpractice, neglect, and sexual abuse of inmates by staff[6] Over a seven-year period, seven FMC Carswell staff members were convicted of sexual abuse of a prisoner.[7][8] In March 2000, a prison guard named Michael Lawrence Miller raped a prisoner named Marilyn Shirley, who began her sentence in January 1998. Shirley kept the incident a secret, and kept a pair of sweatpants she wore during the incident as proof. As Shirley was being released in September 2000, she gave the sweatpants to a prison administrator.[9] He was convicted, and in 2004 he was sentenced.[10] He received 150 months (12 years and 6 months) of a sentence,[11] Miller, Federal Bureau of Prisons ID# 30412-177, is imprisoned in Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone and has a projected release date of March 19, 2015.[12]
In May 2008, Vincent Inametti, 48, a Roman Catholic priest who worked as a chaplain at FMC Carswell, was sentenced to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine after pleading guilty in November 2007 to two counts of sexual abuse of two inmates.[13][14] Inametti, BOP # 36889-177, is now imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) - Low in the Butner Federal Correctional Complex.[15]
Death row
| Name | Number | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angela Johnson | 08337-029[16] | As of 2010, in FMC Carswell | |
| Lisa M. Montgomery | 11072-031[17] | As of 2010, in FMC Carswell |
Non-death row
| Name | Number | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wanda Barzee[18] | 16650-081[19] | As of 2010, in FMC, Carswell[19] | Known for the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping |
| Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme[20] | 06075-180[21] | Released on August 14, 2009[21] | Attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford |
| Marion Jones[22] | 84868-054[23] | Released on September 5, 2008[23] | Lying to federal investigators about her usage of performance enhancing drugs during athletic events[22] |
| Ana Montes[24] | 25037-016[25] | As of 2011, in FMC, Carswell[25] | Former DIA official who spied for Cuba |
| Aafia Siddiqui | 90279-054 | As of 2010, in FMC, Carswell[26] | Convicted of intent to murder U.S. interrogators in Afghanistan |