Debt from fines starts at sentencing and can grow at interest rates of 12 percent or more while inmates serve their sentences. It continues to grow after they’re released and face the numerous barriers to finding work and housing.
Prisons and Jails
Palm Coast’s Karl Westgate, 19, Dies in Prison 7 Weeks After Sentence for Child Rape
Karl Westgate, sentenced last summer to 25 years for raping an 11-year-old girl, died in prison 48 days after his incarceration, and five weeks after writing a Flagler County judge to say that his plea had been coerced, and that he wanted his case re-opened.
Florida Prisons, Already Censoring a News Publication, Now Seek to Censor Legal Brief
The Florida Department of Corrections is seeking to block state and national media organizations from filing a brief in a legal battle about whether a publication should be barred from Florida’s prisons.
William Dillow, Serving 45 Years for Raping 2 Pre-Teen Flagler Beach Girls, Is Murdered
William Dillow, 29, was sentenced in April to 45 years and was serving at the Jefferson Correctional Institution near Tallahassee when he was killed by a fellow-inmate. He’d been arrested in February 2014.
Alone Among 50 States, Florida’s Ban on Prison Newspaper Is Upheld
Florida Corrections officials have censored the publications for six years, objecting to certain ads and calling them a security risk. No other state prison system agrees.
Jailhouse Porn
Fort Apache: Flagler
There’s nothing to be proud of in the pornography of incarceration: Flagler had no reason to triple the size of its jail other than to amplify an indefensible architecture of disproportionate punishment.
Rethinking Restrictions on Food Stamps and Welfare Benefits for Drug Felons
The bans on welfare and food stamps assistance apply only to drug felons, in accordance with a 1996 federal law, unless states choose to waive them.
Guard Brutality in Florida Prisons: 2 More Corrections Officers Arrested
Correctional Officer Sgt. Christopher Michael Jernigan, 37, and Correctional Officer Donald Dwight Sims, Jr., 21, were arrested for brutalizing an inmate at Columbia Correctional Institution, the latest in a series of guard arrests in the troubled Florida Department of Corrections.
Florida Prisons Must Provide Halal or Kosher Meals to Muslim and Jewish Inmates, Court Rules
The federal lawsuit challenged corrections officials’ claim that they were not required to provide kosher meals, as well as the rules the agency used to determine who was eligible to receive the meals.
Crime Down 20% in Two Years, Jail Population Isn’t: Sheriff Strains to Explain Paradox
Sheriff Jim Manfre touted Flagler County as one of the safest places in Florida and said the fact should be marketed to prospective businesses, but was less clear about the relationship between falling crime and a still-high jail population, or the county’s need for nearly tripling its jail beds.
Florida Prison Guards and KKK Members Arrested in Plot to Murder Black Ex-Inmate
Arrest documents in the case expose chilling details of the Klan’s organization in North Florida and offer a reminder of the region’s ugly history of racism.
Shackling Juveniles: Despite 2009 Court Decision, Practice Continues Away From Courtroom
Florida’s Supreme Court found shackling juveniles “repugnant, degrading, humiliating, and contrary to the stated primary purposes of the juvenile justice system” in a 2009 decision barring the practice in courtrooms, but shackling carries on elsewhere.
Counties Withhold Payments to State as Dispute Over Juvenile Costs Flares Again
After the failure of a legislative compromise last year, some counties are withholding their share of the costs from the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Florida Prison Ban on Beards Violates Muslim Inmates’ Religious Rights, Supreme Court Rules
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Florida and six other states could not ban inmates from growing beards for religious reasons. The case originated in Arkansas.
Said to Have Been Framed For Tampa Murder, Deaf Convict Felix Garcia Is Denied Release
Felix Garcia’s supporters had hoped he would be released with time served, arguing that he’d been unable to understand the evidence against him during the murder trial and wasn’t given an interpreter.
Cruel and Unusual: 2 Inmates Who Murdered as Juveniles Challenge Their Life Sentences
Two inmates serving life in prison for murders committed as juveniles are challenging their sentences based on a 2012 US Supreme Court ruling that bans mandatory life sentences for juveniles.
Escaped Convict Ronald McCoy Caught by West Palm Beach Police
Ronald McCoy, an inmate with a very violent past who was serving two life terms on armed robbery convictions at a prison in Miami-Dade County, remains at large after his escape on Oct. 31.
Sheriff’s Office, In Echo of 2001 Violation, Keeps Secret the Hospitalization of Murder Suspect at FHF
For two days, a murder suspect was under arrest in Flagler County but not at the jail. The Sheriff’s Office would not disclose his whereabouts–a dungeon-like disappearance that no law allows or protects.
Flagler Detention Deputy of the Year Twice Reprimanded for Sexual Improprieties With Inmates in Last 2 Years
Deputy Randy Stephen Vickers was disciplined in May for having a relationship with a repeat offender and inmate and two years ago for asking an inmate, jokingly, if she’d like to be sexually assaulted.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Terrorist
In 1926, Lyndon Johnson and his friends bombed the town square in Johnson City, Texas, taking out all the windows of a bank. He was never punished, let alone arrested. Times have changed.
Inmate Dies in a Florida Prison Less Than a Day After Family Questioned Safety; Federal Probe Sought
Latandra Ellington, 36, died Wednesday at Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, less than 24 hours after her family called prison officials to express concerns about her safety.
Gangs’ Links to Crooked Guards, Targeted Killing, Money Laundering: Details Emerge in Florida Prison Crisis
Two former prison sergeants are awaiting trial after being accused of ordering an inmate to be killed to protect the guards’ role as kingpins of an institution-wide gang operation.
Department of Corrections Fires 32 More, Including 3 Guards Involved In Gassing Death of Inmate
All of the workers fired were on administrative leave pending a review launched earlier this summer. The housecleaning is part of the secretary’s attempt to salvage the reputation of the beleaguered agency in the wake of reports of widespread abuse and corruption, whistleblower complaints and federal investigations surrounding prisoner deaths.
Florida Prisons: 11 Guards Arrested Following Abuse of Inmates
On Wednesday, five prison guards were arrested for allegedly stomping on a handcuffed and shackled inmate at the Northwest Florida Reception Center last month. A sixth — a captain — was also charged with taking part in the attack and lying about it.
New Flagler Jail and Sheriff’s HQ Cost Estimates Stun Officials, Who Call It “A Setback”
Construction cost estimates for the new jail came in at $22 million, far more than the county’s plan for $14 to $15 million, while the Sheriff’s Operations Center at the old Memorial Hospital came in at $6.2 million, instead of around $5 million.
Impasse Developing Between State and Counties Over Juvenile Detention Costs
A years-long dispute over how to split the costs of detaining youthful offenders appears no closer to being settled after the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice held a rule-making hearing Friday with representatives of more than three dozen Florida counties, including Flagler.
Florida Leads Nation in Inmates Who Serve 100% Of Their Sentence, Increasing Chance of Re-Offending When Released
A new study by the Pew Charitable Trusts finds Florida leading the nation in inmates who “max out” their sentences — serving 100 percent of their time and being released with no supervision beyond the prison gates, thus increasing the chance of re-offending. Almost a third do re-offend.
Florida Prisons Want To Slash Kosher Offerings; Justice Department Says It Would Be Illegal
In a brief filed Monday, lawyers for the Department of Corrections argued that the law allows Florida to scrap the kosher meals because of the financial burden placed on the “cash-strapped agency.” The state has spent more than $200,000 on the lawsuit so far.
New, Panopticon-Like 272-Bed Flagler County Jail Set to Lock Up First Inmate by Fall 2015
The new county jail, estimated to cost less than $20 million, will be paired with renovated administrative spaces on land that may accommodate two additional “pods” totaling 500 more beds, should needs arise later this century.
Federal Order Formalizes Agreement Between Flagler Sheriff and ACLU Ending Postcard-Only Mail at Jail
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre had nothing to do with a sadistic postcard-only mail policy at the Flagler County jail when he was targeted by an ACLU lawsuit charging First Amendment violations. A federal judge formalized the final settlement of that lawsuit on Thursday.
Replacing Salisbury Steak With Sardines, Florida Prisons’ Kosher Option Raises Hackles
Inmates contend that the peanut butter, sardines and cabbage served up daily by the Florida Department of Corrections are designed to discourage them from signing up for the kosher meals or to punish inmates if they do, and that the chow is far from what a federal judge had in mind last year when she ordered the state to start serving kosher meals to inmates.
Life Without Parole for Juveniles: Florida Struggles to Comply With Supreme Court Ruling
Florida sentences more juveniles to life in prison without parole than any other state, but the pressure is on the Legislature this year to comply with restrictive U.S. Supreme Court rulings because without sentencing guidelines, the Florida judiciary is filling the gap one case at a time.
Rarely Punished, Guards May Be Responsible for Half of Sexual Assaults in Prisons and Jails
The federal report is based on data from all of the nation’s federal and state prisons as well as many county jails. It shows more than 8,000 reports of abuse each year between 2009 and 2011, up 11 percent from the previous report, and extremely rare prosecutions.
FDLE Arrests 4 in Two Convicted Murderers’ Escape Scheme, But Unanswered Questions Remain
The escapes of Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins deeply embarrassed the Department of Corrections and raised grave questions about the state’s security measures, down to the office of the Orange County Clerk of Court, where the forged paperwork landed on desks that cleared the way to free the inmates on bogus reduced sentences.
Florida Sentencing Guidelines
Overview of Florida’s sentencing policies, guidelines, first, second and third degree felonies, life sentences.
William Styffe, 33, Suspected Bank Robber, Is Dead 7 Weeks After Suicide Attempt in Jail
William Carl Styffe, who was accused of trying to rob Hancock Bank in Palm Coast and robbing a Sun Trust Bank in Ormond Beach on Aug. 30, then a Compass Bank in St. Johns County a few days later, died over the weekend subsequent to injuries he sustained during a suicide attempt at the Volusia County Branch Jail on Sept. 18.
FDLE Unsure How 2 Escaped Murderers Forged Papers, Duping Prison and Court System
FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey said Tuesday several suspects have been “targeted” for helping two murderers escape from prison with forged court papers mailed to a clerk of court, but the embarrassing incident is still largely unexplained.
Flagler’s Public Safety Council Endorses Court-Ordering Ex-Felons to Evangelical Recovery House
The council—a collection of local police, court and other government agencies—provided the endorsement sight unseen and legalities untested, and based exclusively on a brief presentation by Charles Silano, the local pastor. Open Door Re-Entry and Recovery Ministry will be run out of a former church on Booe Street in Bunnell.
Florida Prisoners Will Wash Dishes and Sew Their Own Clothes in Bid to Save Money
Florida’s prisons have a $45.5 million deficit despite shuttering 10 prisons in recent years, so department head Mike Crews is finding new ways to save money, including refusing to replace broken dishwashers and making inmates do the work instead.
Banned in Flagler, Welcomed in Prisons: Corrections Reverses Cigarette Prohibition in Work Camps
Corrections officials quietly reversed a blanket ban on tobacco at prisons this summer and are now allowing inmates at work release centers to have up to 10 packs of cigarettes each–just as Flagler County readies to ban smoking among new employees.
In a Surprising Shift, County Commission Finds Money for 2 Jail-Diversion Programs After All
Flagler County commissioners Thursday evening agreed to take on a $100,000 mental-health jail diversion program previously paid for by the state, and a $60,000 pre-trial release program they had opposed in earlier workshops. Both shifts took place during a hearing devoted to approving next year’s tax property rate.
Nickel and Diming County Foregoes Program That Would Have Reduced Jail Population
The Flagler County judge and sheriff had supported a proposed pre-trial release program that would have kept low-grade, non-violent offenders out of jail, saving them money in the short term and the county money in the long term, but the county commission eliminated the proposal as part of a $400,000 cut from next year’s budget proposal.
Eric Holder Takes on the “War on Drugs,” Mandatory Sentences and Epidemic Imprisonment Rates
Attorney general Eric Holder on Monday delivered a seminal speech outlining a plan to revamp federal drug policy and incarceration rates of non-violent and elderly offenders, and urging Congress to review mandatory sentencing in light of a “war on drugs” that has not worked. The full speech.
Booked at Orlando Prison, Paul Miller Files Appeal of Conviction on Flagler Beach Murder
Paul Miller, sentenced in June to life in prison for the murder of Dana Mulhall in Flagler Beach last year, will be at Orlando’s Central Florida Reception System prison for a few weeks before being transferred to a permanent prison, though family proximity does not necessarily decide where the system will place him.
Planning for Flagler’s Future, County Talks Library Repairs, New Fire Station and Jail
Expanding an overcrowded county jail, building a modern new sheriff’s operations center, upgrading an inadequate drainage system as urbanization changes the rural character of Flagler and improving fire and emergency medical response west of U.S. 1 were featured in the first of four strategic-planning sessions by the county commission Thursday.
Juvenile Detention Cost-Shifting Arguments in Appeals Court, With Implications for Counties
Counties argue they currently pick up 75 percent of some juvenile detention costs, but should be paying less. The state claims in in court filings that the Legislature actually intended for the counties to cover 89 percent of the costs.Either way, local governments are groaning under the burden.
Duping Court Ruling, Florida Replacing Life Juvenile Sentencing With 50-Year Minimum
Legislation aimed at putting Florida in line with a U.S. Supreme Court ban on automatic life sentences for juvenile murderers cleared a House panel Tuesday, but with a 50 year minimum sentence that opponents say may keep the state’s law at odds with the court’s aim.
Exonerated Death Row Inmates Tell Flagler Beach Group of an Enduring Florida Injustice
In turns moving, startling and informative, a day-long workshop on the death penalty in Flagler Beach, featuring two exonerated men, urged an assembly of 60 to more actively get involved in a movement to abolish capital punishment in Florida.
Responding to ACLU, Manfre Restores His Own More Permissive Jail Mail Policy
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre has rescinded a policy that for the last two years, under Sheriff Don Fleming, prohibited inmates at the county jail from receiving letters at all, or writing letters longer than two pages.
Beyond Sheriff Joe’s Tactics: Looking at Prison Reform in Florida With Fresh Eyes
Analyzing Florida’s prisons and jails is a revelation of unsustainable incarceration rates and prison-building, argues Milissa Holland, who explores more logical alternatives to end the vicious cycle of punishment and recidivism.