Edwin Rubis transfer from FCI medium Talledega Alabama going to low security Ashland Kentucky.
Today, I want to share a recent conversation with our friend Edwin Rubis, Edwin is serving a 40-year sentence for cannabis. After 27 years behind bars and Edwins outdate is 8/7/2031 7 more years,Edwin is now being transferred from FCI Medium Talladega, Alabama, to the low-security prison in Ashland, Kentucky. Edwin Rubis is currently Housed on holding in US Federal prison Atlanta Holdover Unit.
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has been deteriorating, especially since COVID-19, leading to increasingly inhumane conditions. During our phone call, Edwin described his current situation in Atlanta, which is under scrutiny from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to a February 16 report from the DOJ Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta has had the highest number of inmate deaths from 2014 to 2021 among the 10 federal institutions reviewed. Of the 68 deaths during this period, 17 occurred in Atlanta. The report highlighted severe operational issues at the facility, including significant problems with security cameras, posing serious security risks.
During our call, Edwin, currently housed in the special housing unit (SHU) in Atlanta, described the inhumane conditions he endures daily. Locked in his cell most of the time, he has limited access to hygiene products. Upon entering the SHU, which serves as a holding area for transfers, inmates receive recycled jail clothes and minimal hygiene supplies. The toothbrushes and toothpaste provided are incredibly small and ineffective, and the soap portions are inadequate, consisting of small amounts of liquid soap. Showers are limited to eight-minute intervals.
This situation raises urgent questions: When will the torture of our fellow cannabis brother, who has already spent 27 years in prison, end? With eight years remaining on his sentence, why is Edwin Rubis subjected to such inhumane treatment? How is this possible in 2024 That Edwin Rubis is locked away for cannabis still after 27 years?