The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the state Department of Corrections have settled a legal dispute about records dealing with inmate housing at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in the Panhandle. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in August against the department, claiming the agency had rejected public-records requests that involved computerized information about housing […]
Editorial: No New Money for Prisons
Whatever your opinion may be of Gov. Rick Scott, he has been consistent. He campaigned on a platform of cutting government spending, and voters have gotten it since he’s been in office. In the face of the Florida Department of Corrections recent request for $59 million to reopen nine closed prisons and work camps around […]
Florida Wants to Reopen Prisons to House More Inmates
TALLAHASSEE — A year after Florida closed several prisons to save money, the state says it must reopen some of them because of projections of a growing inmate population. The Department of Corrections wants the Legislature to appropriate $59 million to open nine shuttered facilities next year from Miami to the Panhandle, including two prisons, five […]
States Guarantee High Prison Populations for Private Prison Industry’s Profits
“”The demand for our facilities and services could be adversely affected by the relaxation of enforcement efforts, leniency in conviction or parole standards and sentencing practices or through the decriminalization of certain activities that are currently proscribed by our criminal laws.” – Corrections Corp. of America Annual Report, 2010 Anyone who even tangentially follows the […]
Socialist Workers Party Succesfully Counters FDOC Censorship of Newsletter
The Militant newspaper received word Oct. 10 that it has been successful in beating back a decision by prison officials at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton, Fla., to impound one of its issues sent to inmates who subscribe to the socialist newsweekly. On Sept. 9 the paper received a letter from the prison saying […]
The Shame of Our Prisons: New Evidence
As recently as five years ago, American corrections officials almost uniformly denied that rape in prison was a widespread problem. When we at Just Detention International—an organization aimed at preventing the sexual abuse of inmates—recounted stories of people we knew who had been raped in prison, we were told either that these men and women […]
Family Of Inmate Suing DOC For Prison Bus Murder
The family of a Florida prison inmate stabbed to death aboard a prison transport bus is now suing the state for failing to stop it. Eric Sexton was killed on the road somewhere between Jefferson County and Gadsden County and his family claims the correctional officers on board are partly to blame. We must warn […]
Guard-on-Prisoner Sexual Misconduct Happens Far Too Often. Why Can’t We Stop It?
The Albany Times Union recently published a three-part series about sexual assault and harassment in New York state prisons, and it’s worth your time. The articles are a sobering reminder that, despite what America’s tasteless comedians would have you believe, prison rape doesn’t always involve forced inmate-on-inmate sodomy. In fact, according to the most recent […]
Florida’s Prison Health Care Services to Be Fully Privatized By Mid-October
The privatization of prison health care services in Florida is expected to be fully implemented by mid-October. The effort, projected to save the department millions of dollars, caused thousands of employees to lose their state jobs. Speaking before a Senate Criminal Justice budget panel Wednesday, Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Mike Crews said the privatization effort […]
Supreme Court: California Must Continue Prisoner Release
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court ruled Friday that California must proceed with the release of nearly 10,000 prisoners from its overcrowded prison system. In a ruling by Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court’s lone Californian, the justices refused to grant the state a reprieve based on progress on prison overcrowding. Read the full article.
FCC Bars High Rates For Long Distance Phone Calls In Jails and Prisons Nationwide
The Federal Communications Commission today took long-overdue steps to ensure that the rates for interstate long-distance calls made by prison inmates are just, reasonable and fair. Studies make clear that inmates who maintain contact with family and community while in prison have reduced rate of recidivism and are more likely to become productive citizens upon […]
Justice Department Finds Miami Police Used Excessive Force in Shootings
For the first time, a federal judge will monitor the Miami Police Department to enforce sweeping institutional changes involving use of force, after the U.S. Justice Department Tuesday found that several police-involved shootings were unjustified during a four-year period. The Justice Department took the unprecedented step after reviewing 33 police shootings of individuals — including seven black […]
A Smarter Way to Run Florida’s Correctional System
There are many reasons the Legislature should embrace “Smart Justice” legislation, including significant benefits to public safety. But as the House and Senate get down to the nitty-gritty of adopting a final budget, there is an even more compelling reason: money. A lot of it. The Florida Department of Corrections is working hard to eliminate […]
Prison Policy Initiative Releases Report on “Post-card Only” Mail Policies in Jails
Over the past five years, dozens of local jails across the country have followed a harmful new policy trend: mandating that all personal written correspondence to or from jail take place via postcard. The postcard-only trend began in 2007, when controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio instituted a ban on any incoming non-legal mail except […]