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Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 91 Filed 12/07/20 Page 8 of 10

LAW OFFICES OF BOBBI C. STERNHEIM

especially when she is already under constant surveillance and the scans have all come up negative.

In addition, Ms. Maxwell is required to remove her PPE mask during physical searches, subjecting her to higher risk of exposure to COVID. The impact of such unwarranted and disparate treatment is dehumanizing and demoralizing. On October 24th, she was subjected to a wanded, full pat down search yielding negative results. Within 10 minutes, she was subjected to a strip search. The guard performing these searches remarked that never in 28 years of employment as a correctional officer has she heard or witnessed such a thing. During these searches, guards are within inches of Ms. Maxwell. Prevented from wearing a protective mask, she is forced to open her mouth, stick out and move her tongue left and right. She is continuously and unnecessarily exposed to contracting COVID, causing increased stress and vulnerability.

Deprivation of Food: Ms. Maxwell’s meals have been a persistent problem. She has requested a vegetarian diet, been given non-vegetarian meals, and has been denied food on the prison menu. For example, she often receives meals with no protein and has been given only bread and butter for several meals with no additional food. It was not until Ms. Maxwell was given access to the menu for the first time on September 1st, after she complained that she had been given a non-vegetarian meal, that she realized that she had not been receiving full meals with all of the nutritional components since arriving at MDC.

Moreover, she has often been given spoiled food and has not been fed at all for long stretches of time. For example, a recent weekend she was not fed anything for a period of more than 20 hours from Saturday late afternoon until Sunday at midday. As a result of this inadequate nutrition, she has lost upwards of 15 to 20 pounds since arriving at MDC. For the same reason, she is losing hair as well. Her prison medical records reflect that she is suffering from telogen effluvium (hair loss due to stress and poor diet). The lack of food also severely affects her ability to concentrate and review discovery to prepare her defense. Further, she has been denied use of a toothbrush, heightening her risk for tooth decay and gun disease.

In addition, at various times and for various reasons, Ms. Maxwell has been denied access to commissary, the only opportunity to purchase food to supplement her diet. Although the MDC nominally approved Ms. Maxwell’s request for permission to purchase from the full prison commissary list in August 2020, in fact, her access to the commissary was extremely limited and requested items were denied to her. None of these restrictions are a result of any misconduct or refusal on her part and deprive her of her only chance to remedy the BOP’s failure to provide adequate nutrition. Hunger and poor nutrition inhibit her ability to focus and concentrate and negatively impact her overall health and wellbeing.

Deprivation of Sleep: Ms. Maxwell is held in a housing unit in which she is the sole inmate. On various evenings during sleep periods, she is awakened every 15 minutes by flashlights shined into her eyes. The unit is excessively noisy. The noise and constant flashlight checks deprive her of uninterrupted, restful sleep. Repeated disruption of restorative sleep negatively impacts her concentration and ability to focus on document review and defense preparation.

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