Federal Prisons

Sen. Mike Lee Says Federal Prison Hung Up on Him When He Tried To Check on Inmate

Families have complained for years that the Bureau of Prisons fails to notify them when their incarcerated loved ones are seriously ill or even dying.

C.J. Ciaramella | 4.15.2026 4:30 PM

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(Samuel Corum/Sipa USA/Newscom)

Sen. Mike Lee (R–Utah) wrote in a social media post Wednesday that an employee at a federal prison hung up on him when he called to check on the health of an incarcerated man.

Lee's experience is a particularly pointed example of an issue that families and criminal justice advocacy groups have complained about for years: It's next to impossible to get information about inmates' health from the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and the agency frequently fails to notify families when their incarcerated loved ones are sick or even dying.

This cruelty led lawmakers in Congress to introduce legislation last year that would have required the Justice Department to issue guidance to the BOP for promptly notifying families in such cases.

Lee wrote in the post that he called the prison on behalf of a constituent whose son was incarcerated. The constituent was worried because they hadn't heard from their son in several days, and he suffered from "multiple, potentially life-threatening health conditions that are going........

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