The Bureau of Prisons removed Starsha Silva, a mother of four from Hawaii, from the hospital after doctors said she needed emergency open-heart surgery; she died in prison three weeks later.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Federal Correctional Institution at Waseca (FCI Waseca), in the southern part of Minnesota, is a low-security prison for women offenders. Starsha Silva, a mother of four from Hawaii, was housed in FCI Waseca in January 2022 on a drug conviction. But less than a year and half later, on May 24, 2023, Ms. Silva’s conviction became a death sentence, as she died from a heart condition doctors had diagnosed weeks earlier, and for which they had recommended immediate surgery. She was 36 years old.
Today, attorneys for Ms. Silva’s family filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court of Minnesota, suing the United States government, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and more than a dozen employees of FCI Waseca and the BOP. The lawsuit charges the defendants with multiple violations of Ms. Silva’s civil rights under U.S. and Minnesota state law, including medical malpractice and wrongful death.
According to the complaint, Ms. Silva had a documented history of congenital heart disease. In the months leading up to her death, she regularly reported to prison officials symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain. On or about May 2, she was transported to the Mayo Clinic, where physicians diagnosed her with severe valvular heart disease. The physicians concluded that immediate surgical intervention was required, and advised against her even leaving the hospital without first performing the life-saving procedure.
Instead, a case manager decided to return Ms. Silva to FCI Waseca—over the strenuous objections of the consulting physicians—because FCI Waseca could not spare the two staff members required to oversee a patient at the hospital. For weeks Ms. Silva’s health declined in the prison, facing the reality that her life was at risk but no one would help her. Other incarcerated women reported that she seemed scared, weak, and disoriented. She repeatedly asked for someone to call her family, and expressed fears about dying in prison. The prison, with knowledge that she needed immediate medical treatment, decided to transfer her to a medical facility in Texas, rather than a hospital that could perform the surgery. On May 24th—while packing up for her transfer more than three weeks after doctors recommended “immediate” surgery—Starsha Silva collapsed in her cell and died, while prison guards attempted CPR that only further damaged her heart.
“The federal government has a duty to care for the people in its custody,” says Maria Makar of Loevy + Loevy, who represents the family. “Here, federal officials knowingly ignored that responsibility, and abandoned Starsha to weeks of suffering and a terrible, painful death. The family deserves justice and answers for how the government could fail someone in their care so completely.”
According to the complaint, months before Ms. Silva’s death, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General conducted an unannounced visit to FCI Waseca, and noted several concerns about the prison’s capacity and practices regarding medical care. FCI Waseca is a Level 2 Medical and Mental Health facility, but at the time of their inspection the prison housed 11 Level 3 inmates—who required a higher level of care—which would have included Ms. Silva.
“This presents a challenge for FCI Waseca,” they say in their report, published a few weeks before Ms. Silva’s death. The inspectors “found that staff shortages in both FCI Waseca’s Health Services and Psychology Services Departments have caused delays in treatment of the physical and mental healthcare needs of inmates” which “can potentially create more serious health issues.”
“We can no longer accept staff shortages, budget cuts, and security needs as excuses for failing to keep our incarcerated loved ones alive and well,” says attorney Catherine Sevcenko of The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. In May 2024, the organization filed a petition with President Biden and members of Congress, demanding justice for Starsha Silva’s death.
The Silva Family is represented by Maria Makar and Gianna Gizzi of Loevy + Loevy, Catherine Sevcenko of The National Council for Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women & Girls, and Minneapolis attorney Josh Jacobson.
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For a copy of the complaint in this case, click here.
