Death Sentence, D.C. Style

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Barnes's odyssey through the prison system took him from the D.C. jail to Orange County, Va., to the federal penitentiary in Coleman, Fla., for seven years. This year, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, "Barnes was housed at the U.S. penitentiary in Atlanta from April 19 to May 2 while being transferred from Coleman to U.S. penitentiary in Beaumont, Tex." It should be noted that Barnes, fearing for his life, had asked to be transferred out of the Florida penitentiary, where some D.C. inmates were housed.

A couple of points:

· Family spokesman Brown accused authorities of sending Barnes to an Atlanta federal facility where codefendant "Rat" Carpenter was housed. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, in an e-mail this week, said Barnes was housed in an isolated detention center unit at the Atlanta facility, and that "Inmate Carpenter who is [also] designated to the USP Atlanta . . . is not housed in this isolated area."

· Brown said Barnes was attacked by a D.C. inmate in Coleman, Fla., and that his arm was pulled out of its socket. The Bureau of Prisons said, "On August 23, 2003, Barnes was assaulted by another inmate [in Florida] . . . the medical report indicates that Barnes received abrasions and scratches."

Finally, this from the detective:

"[Barnes] helped get a much more dangerous person off the streets. The same person he testified against and who tracked his movement all these years while in prison . . . this person was able to get word through the prison system that Keith was coming to Texas and to get the D.C. guys there to carry out the murder."

With all that is going on in the world, why, you may ask, write about this? Because, my friends, this is a glimpse of the cancerous netherworld that lies beneath the surface of the politically obsessed nation's capital. That harsh reality with all its dark acts and shattered hopes -- like the federal buildings -- isn't going away.

kingc@washpost.com

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