Fired Prison Nurse Noella Turnage Exposes Alleged Ghislaine Maxwell Prison Perks

The ethical compass of nursing demands advocacy, often pushing nurses to the frontline of difficult institutional battles. For registered nurse Noella Turnage, that battlefield was the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and the focus of her ethical stand is one of the nation's most high-profile inmates: Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted child-sex trafficker serving a 20-year sentence in connection with the deceased financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Turnage has emerged as a key whistleblower. She alleges that her firing came after she raised concerns about inmate care and workplace conditions, and she later provided members of Congress with copies of Maxwell’s emails that she believes show the inmate receiving preferential treatment at FCI Bryan — raising broader questions about inmate equality, nursing ethics, and transparency within the prison healthcare system.

Who Is Prison Nurse Noella Turnage?

Turnage’s nursing background matters. Nurses understand systems, policies, ethics, patient rights, and vulnerabilities. 

Since 2019, she worked as a nurse at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, where Maxwell is now serving her sentence. Turnage built her career as a Bureau of Prisons nurse who, according to her own statements to NBC News, advocated for “common human decency and doing what's right for all inmates.”

She says her interest was piqued when she was reassigned within the facility to the “phone room,” a role monitoring inmate calls and emails. She told KBTX: “They call it prison jail. I would be looking for any evidence that they’re doing something they shouldn’t be. Like, are they trying to smuggle in drugs?... But these women aren’t risking that, not for the most part. And same as emails, you’re monitoring for anything they shouldn’t be doing. Usually on the phone, the biggest thing you run into is they’ll call a family member who then conference calls somebody else that they’re not supposed to be talking to.”

In this role she encountered correspondence and behaviour she found irregular. For example, she observed that Maxwell’s outgoing messages often had “odd spacing, letter substitutions, and formatting” not seen in other inmate emails. She said she printed full threads at work and took them home to study.

 

What Did She Reveal?

What Turnage says she has uncovered is a two-part issue: preferential treatment of Maxwell in prison, and institutional retaliation against her (Turnage) for raising concerns about other inmates’ care.

Regarding the first issue, Turnage claims that Maxwell has been given privileges beyond the norm at the federal prison camp in Bryan. According to KBTX, Newsweek and the House Judiciary Committee release:

• Maxwell enjoyed “private, catered-style visitation arrangements” including “a visit where they closed down the compound”
• Maxwell’s family was allowed to join private meetings with “snacks and refreshments” that were disguised as legal consultations, a practice she says other high-profile inmates did not get. 
• Her meals were “customized and prepared by federal prison camp staff and then personally delivered to her in her cell by longtime federal employees.”
• She was provided an escort by prison guards to recreation areas after hours “so she could work out by herself and was allowed to enjoy recreation time in staff-only areas.”
• She was provided a puppy from an inmate “who trains puppies to become service dogs... so she could play with the puppy.”
• The warden of the facility personally delivered her mail, helping her “copy, print and send legal documents”,and helping her prepare “Commutation Application” to be reviewed by the Donald Trump administration.”

On the second issue—retaliation—Turnage says she had previously raised complaints about working conditions at the facility and about how inmates with serious health needs were treated. She says after those complaints she was reassigned to the monitoring role which she describes as the “phone room,” essentially removed from clinical nursing duties. 

Why This Whistleblower Case is Relevant for Nurses

The allegations raised by Turnage are far more than an internal HR dispute; they strike at the heart of public confidence in the US justice system and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

• Equity and fairness in correctional care: Nurses are expected to provide ethical, equitable care. When one inmate appears to receive privileges that others do not, it raises questions about transparency and whether the facility supports fair treatment.
• Whistle-blowing risks: Turnage’s account shows how quickly advocacy can shift into personal risk. She says that after raising concerns she was reassigned to monitoring inmate communications and later terminated. Her experience highlights the vulnerability nurses face when they challenge institutional practices.
• Documentation and oversight: Turnage relied heavily on printed emails and preserved records to support her concerns. In correctional nursing, thorough documentation is often the only safeguard for both inmate rights and professional integrity.
• High-profile inmates and public trust: Because Maxwell is already under intense scrutiny, any claim of special treatment has amplified impact. For nurses, uneven treatment undermines confidence in both correctional health care and the broader justice system.
• Where custody meets care: Correctional nurses work within security-driven systems. When administrative decisions conflict with standard practice, nurses may find themselves navigating ethical and professional tensions. Turnage’s story illustrates that fault line clearly.

By stepping forward, Noella Turnage, RN, has shifted the focus from the inmate to the institution, demonstrating that the ethical duty of a nurse extends far beyond the bedside to demand accountability from the system itself.

 

🤔 Nurses: what do you think about this nurse whistleblower? Let us know in the discussion forum below.