At a medium-security prison outside of Philadelphia, a correctional officer-guided team has worked since 2018 to incorporate Scandinavian penal principles into its own institution. Prisoners reported feeling safer and having more positive relationships with staff and other people living in the prisons. They also indicated greater satisfaction with their access to food and the reintegration support available to them.
Prisons and Jails
Florida National Guard Could Be Used to Fill In at Short-Staffed State Prisons
As the state continues to struggle with a shortage of correctional officers, a legislative panel next week will consider a plan that would activate Florida National Guard members to help at prisons, according to a document published Friday.
Florida Prisons Propose Cutting Family Visitations, Drawing Sharp Objections
Florida’s state-run prisons would be allowed to cut visitation with inmates in half to mirror staffing shortages. Advocates for inmates and their families object, saying visitation is a boon to inmate behavior and helps maintain family ties critical for the success of inmates returning to free society.
FDLE Arrests 3 at Dade Correctional Institution Officers for Murder
Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested three correctional officers accused of murdering an inmate at Dade Correctional Institution (CI) on February 14, 2022. The officers, Christopher Rolon, 29, Kirk Walton, 34, and Ronald Connor, 24, are each charged with murder.
Flagler Sheriff and County Get Their Own Advocate to Help Control Inmate Health Costs
The agreement with Prime Health Services, through the Florida Sheriffs Association, is similar to securing a health advocate who negotiates medical bills after services have been rendered, to lower the costs of overbilling.
Convict Slavery: The 13th Amendment’s Fatal Flaw
The 13th Amendment, considered one of the crowning achievements of American democracy, set “free” an estimated 4 million enslaved people and seemed to demonstrate American claims to equality and freedom. But the amendment did not apply to those convicted of a crime.
Florida Is Among World Leaders in Mass Incarceration
Florida and a dozen other states imprison people at the highest rates in the world, without demonstrating that incarceration reduces crime, says the Prison Policy Initiative, a non-partisan research and policy advocacy organization.
Flagler Records 99 Covid Infections Sunday, County Jail Outbreak Hits 37, AdventHealth Palm Coast Has 45 Hospitalized
The numbers across the community continue to point toward more gravity than relief, with infections still on the upswing, with few people and fewer organizations–including governments–returning to safety protocols essential to slowing the spread, such as masking and social distancing.
Florida Prisons Want to Ban Most ‘Routine’ Mail, Replacing It with Communal Email. Families Are Outraged.
Florida prison officials’ plan to replace prisoners’ “routine” mail with digitized versions viewed on tablet computers or communal kiosks has sparked an outcry among inmates’ families and advocates, who argue that preserving bonds with loved ones while prisoners are locked up dramatically increases later chances of success on the outside.
Federal Judge Dismisses Suit by 5 Inmates Claiming Constant Bright Lights at Flagler Jail are ‘Human Torture’
Inmates filed suit over bright lights being on 24 hours a day at the Flagler County jail. A federal judge dismissed the suit on a technicality–the jail is not an entity that could be sued–but the jail administration had previously sought to address the issue with eye masks and is exploring other possibilities.