When the Flagler County Jail adopted a policy that required all correspondence sent to inmates to be on postcards—no letters, books, magazines, etc.—FJI, co-counseling with the ACLU of Florida, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all persons who have friends or family in the jail and would like to write to them, alleging […]
Florida inmates can’t stomach cold kosher meals
TALLAHASSEE — Peanut butter, sardines and cabbage may be healthy options for some scrupulous dieters. But Florida prison inmates whose kosher meals are comprised primarily of those three staples served cold seven days a week say the chow isn’t just nutritionally inadequate, it’s plain gross. They contend that the peanut butter, sardines and cabbage served […]
ACLU to Defend Partially Paralyzed Prisoner in Prison Abuse Case
A partially paralyzed man is receiving legal help from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida in an alleged abuse lawsuit against the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution. Richard Allen Jackson, 56, is suing the prison for being denied the use of a wheelchair in his prison cell. Jackson, who cannot walk because of partial paralysis […]
FJI Assists ACLU Attorneys in Defending Historic Pottinger Agreement to Protect Homeless Individuals
The Pottinger Agreement is a consent decree entered in 1998 between the City of Miami and ACLU attorneys after a decade of hard-fought litigation and intense negotiations. The Agreement prevents City of Miami police officers from arresting homeless individuals for committing certain life-sustaining conduct misdemeanors in public if there is no available shelter bed to […]
Petition seeks Bar fees to fund legal aid
A group of Florida lawyers is preparing a petition to the Supreme Court seeking authority to have Bar annual membership fees raised up to $100, with the extra funds earmarked for financially strapped legal aid programs. Bar President Eugene Pettis reported on the effort at the Board of Governors January 31 meeting and said he […]
Fed. jury awards jailed woman’s estate $975,000
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A federal jury has awarded $975,000 to the estate of a woman who died in a Pinellas County Jail cell. The jury made its decision on Friday in the case of Jennifer DeGraw, 50, who was taken into custody after her husband called the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office because she was […]
Lawsuits against Volusia jail’s private medical provider among thousands nationwide
On his third day in the Volusia County Branch Jail, the pain in Doug Knichel’s foot was torturing him. He wound up in a wheelchair in the medical clinic. “They said it was gout,” he would say later. “I had no idea. I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know.” It wasn’t gout, and Knichel’s […]
Rep. Castor: Make it quicker for felons to regain voting rights
TAMPA — U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor wants Gov. Rick Scott to make it easier for felons to have their voting rights restored after they have paid their to debt to society. The Democratic congresswoman spoke Monday about the issue, which promises to be a focal point of the 2014 governor’s race that’s pitting Scott, a […]
They Paid Their Debt
OUR OPINION: Restore voting rights to ex-felons Attorney General Eric Holder, who has become the Obama administration’s leading voice on minorities’ civil rights and criminal-justice reforms, recently championed a group that seldom gets the sympathy of law enforcers — convicted felons. During a criminal-justice symposium at Georgetown University last week, Mr. Holder called on 11 […]
Florida Corrections Must Answer to Man Left Blind
(CN) – A man who says inadequate medical treatment in a Florida prison left him permanently blind in one eye may have a civil rights case, the 11th Circuit ruled. The decision notes that Jeffrey Kuhne was in his mid-40s when Florida incarcerated him for a probation violation in June 2008. His sight significantly worsened […]
FJI, On Behalf of HOPE Fair Housing Center, Settles Lawsuit Against Real Estate Companies for Housing Discrimination
FJI, on behalf of Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), filed a lawsuit against a real estate agent and two realty companies after the agent repeatedly told HOPE testers that children were not allowed to live in an apartment building, which is a violation of the Fair Housing Act. This was after the realtor had […]
Florida prison system swamped, even as crime levels reach historic lows
With crime low, Florida is still locking up those who get convicted of crimes for long periods of time. January 31, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ — If you have been accused of committing a crime in Florida, you likely already know that there could be serious consequences. But, you may not be aware of the overwhelming scope […]
Prison Staff Not Held Accountable For Sexual Abuse Of Inmates: Report
Nearly half of prison staff who sexually abused inmates faced no legal consequences, according to a new federal report. The Bureau of Justice Statistics report released this week looked at data from 2009 to 2011 in federal and state prisons, local jails, and other adult facilities. The report found that just 46 percent of cases […]
Judge Rules for Better Conditions For Inmates with Serious Mental Health Issues
The S.C. Department of Corrections mental health program is “inherently flawed and systemically deficient in all major areas,” and prison officials should address the constitutional deficiencies and provide more humane treatment of prison inmates with serious mental health illnesses, a circuit court judge ruled January 8, 2014. Circuit Judge Michael Baxley said in his ruling […]
Family wants answers after inmate’s suicide in state facility near Orlando
As William Walker’s body hung inside a state correctional facility near Orlando on New Year’s Eve, letters that he had written before his death were enroute to his parent’s Port St. Lucie home. Two letters have already arrived and more may be coming. His mom, Suzanne Walker, hasn’t been able to work up the courage […]
Deaf inmates sue Ky. prisons over accommodations
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A pair of deaf and hearing-impaired inmates in Kentucky sued the state, seeking to force the Department of Corrections to provide interpreter services for medical visits, video phones that allow deaf callers to see sign language and other hearing devices. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Frankfort, the inmates […]
Idaho to take back control of privately run state prison
Idaho’s governor says the corrections department will take over operation of the largest privately run prison in the state after more than a decade of mismanagement and other problems at the facility. Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America has contracted with the state to run the prison since it was built in 1997. Taxpayers currently pay […]
Food As Punishment: Giving U.S. Inmates ‘The Loaf’ Persists
In many prisons and jails across the U.S., punishment can come in the form of a bland, brownish lump. Known as nutraloaf, or simply “the loaf,” it’s fed day after day to inmates who throw food or, in some cases, get violent. Even though it meets nutritional guidelines, civil rights activists urge against the use […]