florida prisons

Florida Prisons Proposal To Cut Visitation Hours In Half Draws Outrage and Pleas

FlaglerLive | May 31, 2018

Visits help cut recidivism and keep families close, as recognized even by state law, but Florida prison officials are looking to cut costs.

Brushing Aside 1st Amendment Claim, Appeals Court Uphold Florida Ban on a Prison Magazine

FlaglerLive | May 22, 2018

Florida alone among 50 states bans Prison Legal News. Paul Wright, the publisher of the magazine, intends to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Florida Prisons’ 40% Cut in Substance-Abuse and Mental-Health Treatment Draw Criticism

FlaglerLive | May 4, 2018

Some $7.6 million in substance-abuse services in prisons will be eliminated, Another $1.6 million will be cut in transitional housing services.

Florida Prisons Cut Drug-Rehab and Re-Entry Programs That Help Felons From Re-Offending

FlaglerLive | May 2, 2018

Florida’s prisons are slashing substance-abuse services, transitional housing and re-entry programs, the very programs that keep inmates from returning to prison.

Appeals Court Sides With Florida Prisons in Public Records Dispute With Miami Herald

FlaglerLive | August 29, 2016

The Florida prisons department was required to provide item-by-item legal explanations for its decisions to black out information on public records requested by the Herald — a process known as redacting the information.

Fershtay? Appeals Court Rules Florida May Not Halt Offering Kosher and Halal Meals to Prisoners

FlaglerLive | July 15, 2016

Florida prison officials argued they had a right to stop offering kosher meals if they got too expensive. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said no in a unanimous decision.

Sharply Split Court Revamps and Complicates Challenges to Solitary and Restrictive Confinement

FlaglerLive | July 12, 2016

Giving more “deference” to the Florida Department of Corrections, a sharply divided appeals court Tuesday approved revamping the legal process for inmates who challenge disciplinary decisions that take them out of the general prison population.

In Florida, Court Rules, a 55-Year Prison Sentence For a Juvenile Is Not a Life Term

FlaglerLive | April 25, 2016

Anthony Julian Collins was two months shy of 17 when he was committed an attempted second-degree murder, carjacking with a firearm and attempted armed robbery.

Troubled Florida Department of Corrections Asks for 734 More Positions for Security. Lawmakers Say No.

FlaglerLive | March 5, 2016

The department has been reeling from a series of reports about issues such as contraband smuggling and abuse of inmates. The new jobs were part of an effort by the department to have corrections officers work eight-hour shifts instead of 12-hour shifts.

In “Fair Sentencing” Push, an Attempt to Reconsider Florida’s Get-Tough-On-Crime Laws

FlaglerLive | February 1, 2016

Fair Sentencing seeks to change laws of the 1990s, such as 10-20-Life, mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and habitual-offender laws, as other states have done.

Florida Prisons, Already Censoring a News Publication, Now Seek to Censor Legal Brief

FlaglerLive | December 30, 2015

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.

Alone Among 50 States, Florida’s Ban on Prison Newspaper Is Upheld

FlaglerLive | September 1, 2015

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.

Guard Brutality in Florida Prisons: 2 More Corrections Officers Arrested

FlaglerLive | May 5, 2015

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

FlaglerLive | May 2, 2015

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.

Inmate Dies in a Florida Prison Less Than a Day After Family Questioned Safety; Federal Probe Sought

FlaglerLive | October 7, 2014

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

FlaglerLive | September 25, 2014

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

FlaglerLive | September 20, 2014

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 Leads Nation in Inmates Who Serve 100% Of Their Sentence, Increasing Chance of Re-Offending When Released

FlaglerLive | June 5, 2014

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.

Dispute Over State’s Shifting Juvenile Detention Costs to Counties Simmers Again

FlaglerLive | May 19, 2014

The dispute goes back to 2004 and centers on DJJ’s handling of a law that requires counties help pay for “predisposition,” or the costs of detaining underage offenders before they are sentenced. It affects 38 counties. The 29 poorest counties in the state are considered “fiscally constrained” and aren’t part of the cost-sharing formula.

Florida Prisoners Will Wash Dishes and Sew Their Own Clothes in Bid to Save Money

FlaglerLive | September 26, 2013

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

FlaglerLive | September 13, 2013

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.

Flagler Beach Murderer Paul Miller Is Moved to Dade Prison, 350 Miles from Home

FlaglerLive | August 9, 2013

Paul Miller, the 66-year-old Flagler Beach resident sentenced to life in prison in June for the murder of Dana Mulhall, may serve out his life sentence in South Florida if his ongoing appeal is unsuccessful.

Booked at Orlando Prison, Paul Miller Files Appeal of Conviction on Flagler Beach Murder

FlaglerLive | July 2, 2013

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.

Beyond Sheriff Joe’s Tactics: Looking at Prison Reform in Florida With Fresh Eyes

FlaglerLive | March 14, 2013

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.

Gulag Glimmers: Fewer Florida Ex-Felons Re-Offending after Prison, Freeing Beds

FlaglerLive | February 5, 2013

The percentage of inmates who commit another crime within three years of release has dropped from 33 percent for those freed as of 2003 to 27.6 percent for those freed as of 2008, reducing the total number of inmates admitted.

Do Prisoners Have a Constitutional Right to Dental Floss?

FlaglerLive | November 16, 2012

In Florida, five inmates have separately sued Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw in federal court, claiming deprivation of federally protected civil rights through the denial of dental floss. The sheriff is denying it to them. Angel Castillo argues the sheriff is wrong.

Calling Florida Prison Officials Ignorant and Bigoted, Judge Orders Accommodations For Transgender Inmate