A pro-life activist wrongly imprisoned for attempting to save the life of unborn babies has been seriously injured in prison.
Will Goodman, currently an inmate at Federal Correction Institution Danbury in Connecticut, suffered severe injuries on Sunday, November 15, after falling in his sleep from an upper bunk and landing headfirst on the floor underneath.
“The bunk is over 5 feet high,” he reported by prison email to friends the next day. “There are no guard rails along the side. When I fell, I landed on the top of my head with all … my force. This loud noise woke up other men nearby. I cracked my head open and lost a lot of blood. I knocked myself unconscious.”
Goodman was taken by ambulance to the emergency room. Although he was vomiting blood and doctors discovered that he had skull fractures, he was sent back to the prison that night. There he suffered from severe dizziness and nausea, sleepiness without being able to sleep, and pain to his head, face, shoulders, lower back, with bruises and swelling. His nose bled for two days.
Goodman’s head was bandaged, and he was given a neck brace. However, the prison has been treating his pain and discomfort only with ibuprophen, Tylenol, and anti-nausea medication.
On his way back from the prison library a few days later, he lost consciousness and was awoken by the sound of heavy boots running and several guards yelling. Goodman was put in a wheelchair and taken to the medical wing.
“Unfortunately, [after] about 10 yards, the front left wheel fell off, and the wheelchair soon lunged forward, wrenching my neck, and the female guard pushing me started cursing at me, blaming me for moving around,” he wrote. “She claimed I hurt her hip and did it on purpose. I tried to explain it was not me but the chair, but she was very mad at me and kept pushing the wounded wheelchair. Fortunately, a more professional guard explained to her that the wheelchair was falling apart, so we proceeded on foot to get [me] checked out.”
Goodman was deemed well enough to be released from the medical wing with a walker. However, as late as Wednesday, Goodman still suffered so badly from dizziness that he could not shower. When he is well enough, he will need to use a special shower chair for the disabled.
Fortunately, he reports that, overall, “the staff has been quite professional, several even being understanding or sympathetic” during his ordeal. He has also met with kindness from his fellow prisoners, several of whom thought at first that his fall had killed him. Some of them are also political prisoners.
“I have been extremely blessed by the help of several friends here, especially the January 6 guys, including some Christian friends from the Bible study,” he wrote on November 20. “They check in on me. They bring me food. They pray with me. They lie and tell me I look better.”
Goodman assured his friends this email that he is “hanging in there” and that there is “no need to worry.”
“God is a Divine Physician,” he added. “The recovery is underway. The path ahead is in God’s Hands. I trust in Him.”
Will Goodman was one of the pro-life witnesses who attempted to save the lives of unborn babies in October 2020 at a late-term abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. On August 29, 2023, a jury found Goodman guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and “conspiracy against rights.” He was subsequently sentenced to 27 months in prison and a $125 fine by U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
To send a letter (not a card) with your good wishes to Will Goodman, please write to the following address:
WILLIAM GOODMAN 93822-509
FCI Danbury
Federal Correction Institution
Route 37
Danbury, CT 06811