The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) has concluded that staff at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Fort Worth, Texas, provided timely, appropriate, professional medical care to Mr. James McDougal.

Shortly after Mr. McDougal's death, the FBOP launched an extensive internal review. The team of reviewers, which consisted of individuals not employed at the Fort Worth facility, interviewed staff, reviewed medical and correctional procedures, and studied related documents. The review concluded that the actions of staff with respect to the treatment afforded Mr. McDougal at the time of his death were consistent with FBOP policy and reasonable community standards of medical care. The placement of Mr. McDougal into administrative detention was fully supported by FBOP policy and consistent with sound correctional judgement. Further, the review team concluded that his placement in administrative detention had no adverse impact on Mr. McDougal's medical condition. In fact, Mr. McDougal was more closely supervised by staff while in administrative detention than he would have been while housed in the general population. It is likely staff became aware, of and were able to respond more quickly to, the medical emergency because of his presence in the administrative detention unit.

As previously reported, an independent autopsy was conducted by Dr. Nizam Peerwani, Chief Medical Examiner for Tarrant County, Texas. His autopsy revealed Mr. McDougal experienced sudden cardiac death due to hypertensive artherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The Medical Examiner's office can be contacted for additional information regarding the autopsy.

We are confident appropriate actions were taken to attempt to save the life of Mr. McDougal. As with all inmates in the care of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, we are committed to our mission of ensuring that they receive humane treatment, a safe, secure living environment, and medical treatment commensurate with community standards.