Two inmates had already been murdered this year at the high-security prison where notorious mobster James "Whitey" Bulger was slain a day after he had been transferred there.

Last year, there were 257 violent incidents at Hazelton prison in West Virginia, a 15 percent increase from 2016. In September, Demario Porter, 27, was pronounced dead in hospital after a fight. Ian Thorne, 48, serving a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder, was killed in April by two inmates using homemade weapons.

Hazelton, known by inmates as "Misery Mountain", has a long history of inmates murdering each other. In October 2007, Jesse Harris was stabbed to death by two inmates already serving life sentences for homicide and attempted homicide. In December 2009, inmate Jimmy Lee Wilson, 25, serving an 11-year sentence for armed robbery, was killed during a racially-motivated fight involving at least five other inmates.

Just last week, Washington's congressional delegate requested the inspector general investigate the prison because of the “brutal treatment” of inmates and "culture of violence" there. It holds around 3,500 inmates, 1,370 of whom are in the high-security section.

After Bulger’s death, which occurred only a day after he was transferred to Hazelton, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, reiterated her request for an inspector general investigation, citing a “culture of violence” at the high-security facility.

“Based on reports from my constituents who are housed at Hazelton and their relatives, there appears to be a serious shortage of staffing and other resources, leaving prisoners and guards vulnerable to attacks,” Norton said in a Tuesday statement. “James ‘Whitey’ Bulger’s death, which occurred one day after he was transferred to Hazelton, underscores reports of a culture of violence at Hazelton and the need for the Inspector General to begin an investigation immediately.”

A spokesperson for Norton told the Washington Examiner that the D.C. delegate has not yet received a response from Inspector General Michael Horowitz regarding her request for investigation.

In her letter sent last week, Holmes Norton said that relatives of an inmate had told her he had been “beaten badly by… prison guards to the point they fractured his ribs.” His family also claimed he told them that three weeks beforehand, guards went to his cell three times, taunted him and eventually handcuffed and beat him.

The same family claimed a padlock was used to tighten a chain around the inmatye's waist, causing the lock to dig into his pelvic area for 17 hours. In addition, his food contained pubic hairs.

Holmes Norton wrote: "Another of my constituents at Hazelton claims he was attacked by guards and left in solitary confinement for several days, where he was unable to receive medical attention. He has indicated that the chain wrapped around his stomach made it difficult for him to breathe.

She added: "I am concerned that these examples may be indicative of larger, ongoing problems at the facility. For example, I was informed by the D.C Corrections Information Council that in a recent survey of 58 inmates at the facility, only 29% said they felt safe at Hazelton. These inmates also indicated there were staff who had been performing duties outside the scope of their work, which may account for some of these issues."