The Department of Justice found several “serious issues” with treatment of inmates, contraband and employee practices at USP Canaan in Waymart during an inspection of the federal prison last June.
According to a report released Thursday, the Office of the Inspector General found issues including concerning use of restraints on inmates, issues with the prison’s ability to provide healthcare to inmates and inappropriate imagery and demeaning language in employee spaces.
In a video released Thursday, Deputy Inspector Bill Blier said inspectors, while on-site from June 2-5, 2025, observed employees applying four-point restraints to inmates in a “manner that caused inmates severe discomfort and posed serious risk of lasting injury.”
The prison has capacity for 1,536 inmates, and had a population of 1,357 at the time of the inspectors' visit.
“Multiple USP Canaan employees told us they had seen four-point restraints applied too tightly, which caused the hands of restrained inmates to swell and become discolored,” Blier said. “While BOP (Federal Bureau of Prisons) policy allows for use of restraints in certain situations, it is impermissible to cause physical pain or extreme discomfort.”
In regard to inmate healthcare, the report states USP Canaan had been without an on-site, full-time physician since November 2022 at the time of the inspection. The inspection also found inconsistencies with medication administration practices, expired medical supplies and delays of healthcare and lab testing.
“We also observed unsafe practices in dental services, specifically sharp dental surgical tools and chloroform stored in unlocked cabinets near inmates,” a release from DOJ states.
Blier said the inspectors also observed prison employees using "inappropriate and demeaning language” toward inmates and other employees, as well as inappropriate imagery in employee areas.
“Our team observed several instances of imagery associated with designated criminal groups, white supremacy and anti-semitism in employee-only areas,” he said in the video statement.
The report makes nine recommendations for BOP to correct the issues found at USP Canaan. The BOP agreed with all of them, and in the appendices of the report, outlined the steps that have been taken over the past year to rectify each situation.
The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General publishes the progress of its recommendations online as reports become available.
