The following remarks were made by James Haddock along with his wife, Carol, to the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) Oversight Board at its February 2025 public meeting. You can view the video of their public comment on YouTube along with the rest of the meeting.
Our son Kurtis Haddock has two bullets lodged in his head. One is believed to be removable, while the other sits too close to his optic nerve to remove without further damage to his vision because the jagged side is on the optic nerve of his right eye.
Kurtis survived 7 gunshots to his face, head, chest, and stomach. This attempt on his life occurred over a year before his arrest. He has already undergone multiple surgeries, but he still needs more. He is blind in one eye and doctors have warned that without urgent care he could lose sight in the other. He has missed scans, MRI and consultation appointments due to being denied medical release. Now he sits in a jail cell with a bullet that could shift at any moment and take his life.
Kurtis experiences grand mal seizures which have increased since being incarcerated last may. Early on he woke up from a seizure, missing teeth which he could not find and seemed to have swallowed. Other seizures he has awakened from in a pool of cold urine, in vomit, and one time drowning in his own vomit. He frequently has nosebleeds and at other times he can taste the blood in the back of his throat. He describes headaches that start at his temples and reverberate through his body. He was shot in his sciatic nerve and has constant pain in his feet and his back. (Last night on the phone I asked him why he was not talking, he said because it hurts.) Everything hurts! However, prison guards have repeatedly refused to acknowledge his medical needs and emergencies. They have not responded to them adequately because of their disbelief.
This is not just medical neglect, but a denial of his humanity. I have medical letters, statements from doctors, and surgeons ready to operate, but Kurtis needs the jail to permit him to receive the care he desperately requires.
Someone tried to kill my son two years ago, and now ACJ is trying to finish the job.
I refuse to sit back and let my son die in that cell. I need you to please hear me—my son needs your help. Kurtis deserves a chance to live!