{"id":27350,"date":"2025-04-09T10:28:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T14:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=27350"},"modified":"2025-04-09T10:28:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T14:28:15","slug":"sens-ossoff-kennedy-introduce-bipartisan-bicameral-bill-to-notify-loved-ones-when-inmates-suffer-health-complications-or-pass-away-in-custody","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sens-ossoff-kennedy-introduce-bipartisan-bicameral-bill-to-notify-loved-ones-when-inmates-suffer-health-complications-or-pass-away-in-custody\/","title":{"rendered":"Sens. Ossoff & Kennedy Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Notify Loved Ones When Inmates Suffer Health Complications or Pass Away in Custody"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legislation will ensure families receive timely notifications should an incarcerated family member pass away or suffer health complications while in prison <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C.<\/strong> \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing a bipartisan bill to help safeguard human rights in Georgia\u2019s prisons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Sens. Ossoff and John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the bipartisan Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act <\/em>to help notify family members in a timely and compassionate manner in the event of a death, serious illness or injury of a loved one in custody. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill would require the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to implement policies and procedures for family notification by issuing central guidance to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The bill would also direct the Attorney General to develop and distribute model notification policies and procedures to state and local detention agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToo often, the families of those incarcerated never find out about a serious illness, a life-threatening injury, or even the death of a loved one behind bars. That\u2019s why Senator Kennedy and I are introducing this bipartisan reform legislation,\u201d Sen. Ossoff said. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bipartisan companion bill is being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37), John Rutherford (R-FL-05), Barry Moore (R-AL-01), and Glenn Ivey (D-MD-04).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2016, when Wakiesha Wilson tragically died while incarcerated, her family members\u2013my constituents\u2013were never directly informed of her passing. It took 18 days for Wakiesha to be reunited with her family, compounding their agony of experiencing thedeath of a loved one. No one should have to go through that pain,\u201d said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. <\/strong>\u201cIt is shameful that our correctional facilities are not required to notify the families of incarcerated people if their loved ones are seriously ill, injured, or deceased. I\u2019m proud to introduce this legislation to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery family member deserves to be notified if their loved one has passed away, is injured, or becomes ill,\u201d said Rep. Rutherford (FL-05). <\/strong>\u201cAs a former sheriff, I understand the importance of notifying families about the health challenges their loved ones are facing while in custody. No parent, spouse, or child should be left in the dark. That\u2019s why I am proud to join my colleagues in the House and Senate to introduce bipartisan legislation to ensure compassionate notification of a detainee\u2019s health status to their family members.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFamilies deserve to be informed when their loved one has died, has a serious illness, or sustains an injury while in custody. In FY21 alone, the Department of Justice failed to identify at least 990 prison and arrest related deaths,\u201d said Moore<\/strong>. \u201cThis legislation requiring the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons to implement clear procedures for notifying families if these events occur is a step toward transparency and accountability that ensures no family is left in the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis bipartisan bill would ensure that the Department of Justice develops policies to notify family members about the well-being of their loved ones in custody,\u201d said Rep. Glenn Ivey<\/strong>. \u201cI am proud to partner with my House and Senate colleagues in introducing this important legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Families across Georgia have suffered from the prison system\u2019s failure to notify families of their relatives\u2019 health in recent years: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/em>, a Clayton County Jail inmate\u2019s daughter was never notified after her mother fell and suffered from serious injuries, including a collapsed lung that required hospitalization. Her daughter only received notice of her death<\/a> once the mother\u2019s longtime boyfriend attempted to visit the jail and was told that she was no longer there. The jail did not provide the boyfriend nor the daughter with additional information on the mother\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In South Georgia, a woman was only notified of her father\u2019s death<\/a> at Valdosta State Prison after a letter was returned to her stamped, \u201cReturn to sender: inmate dead.\u201d She was then unable to obtain any further information about her father\u2019s death from prison officials.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff has been a longtime advocate for improving transparency in the U.S. prison system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, Sen. Ossoff warned<\/a> AG Pam Bondi and BOP Associate Deputy Director Kathleen Toomey that their efforts to reduce pay for prison staff threaten the safety and security of prisons amid pre-existing staffing shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock urged<\/a> Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) Commissioner Tyrone Oliver to promptly address the deeply concerning findings in the DOJ\u2019s report on Georgia\u2019s state prison system, which found conditions in Georgia\u2019s prisons \u201cviolate the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, President Biden signed into law<\/a> Sen. Ossoff\u2019s bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act<\/em>, historic prison reform legislation to overhaul independent oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prison\u2019s 122 facilities nationwide by mandating routine inspections of all facilities by the DOJ Inspector General and establishing a new Ombudsman to investigate the health, safety, welfare, and rights of incarcerated people and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, Sen. Ossoff led a 10-month bipartisan investigation<\/a> that uncovered the DOJ failed to count nearly 1,000 deaths in state and local custody in 2021 alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> to read the Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legislation will ensure families receive timely notifications should an incarcerated family member pass away or suffer health complications while in prison  Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing a bipartisan bill to help safeguard human rights in Georgia\u2019s prisons. Today, Sens. Ossoff and John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the bipartisan Family Notification of Death, Injury, or […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27350","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/27350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/27350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27352,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/27350\/revisions\/27352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}