A 37-year-old terrorist convicted recently died in covid-19 in the US Lompoc prison.

"It is a tragedy, but unfortunately I am not surprised because I have seen the neglect of this pandemic at this prison," says Peter Bibring of the human rights organization ACLU and one of the lawyers working with the lawsuit.

Nearly 70 percent of Lompoc prison inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus. The lawsuit, which is 189 pages long, describes the situation as deadly and illegal.

Obligation to protect inmates

"The United States has a constitutional obligation to protect people who are incarcerated," says Peter Bibring.

He is referring to the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution, which states that it is forbidden for the state to expose people to cruel and unusual punishments. The lawsuit lists several events in which the attorneys believe that the prison failed to uphold the constitution. Among other things, it is about the staff ignoring the symptoms of the inmates and the lack of opportunities for the inmates to manage their hygiene.

SVT News has sought the head of government at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, BOP, Michael Carvajal and the prison director at Lompoc, Louis Milusnic for a comment, but has not received a response.

"A question of life and death"

- This is deadly. This is literally a matter of life and death. This disease is so severe that the entire United States and the world have closed down. Prisons have an obligation to take the same types of measures to reduce dissemination. That has not been done, says Bibring.

SVT: In a prison, there are limited opportunities to prevent the spread of infection and at the same time maintain security. Don't you understand?

- They could have helped with soap, hand spirit, masks, early. But above all, they could have turned some of the prisoners' punishment into house arrest in their home instead. This has been done, for example, in the case of convicted former employees of President Trump. 

Peter Bibring says that the case of the deceased Swede is covered by the lawsuit against the authorities and the prison.