Florida prison boss fires 32 over inmate deaths

[alp227]

Source: Miami Herald

Thirty-two guards with the Florida Department of Corrections were fired Friday afternoon in what union officials were calling a “Friday night massacre.” All were accused of criminal wrongdoing or misconduct in connection with the deaths of inmates at four state prisons.

One of them is Rollin Suttle Austin, the subject of a Miami Herald investigative report coming Sunday. The Herald has published a string of articles alleging brutality and corruption in the prison system.

Eighteen of those fired by Secretary Michael Crews were involved in the death of Matthew Walker at Charlotte Correctional Institution on April 11. Walker, 55, was killed in what the DOC is calling an “inappropriate use of force.”

Five other fired corrections officers from Union Correctional had been accused of using excessive force in the death of inmate Rudolf Rowe on Aug. 16, 2012.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article2176191.html

[Skidmore]

1. Firing should be accompanied by criminal charges.

What they did to Mr. Walker was so inhumane and sadistic that I feel physically ill having read it. Excessive force is to mild a label.

[christx30]

4. Murder seems appropriate here.

There is a line between keeping order and what happened here. These guys leaped over the line and drove 12 miles. Put them in general population.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Far too lenient for barbaric, vicious treatment of other human beings. n/t

[Mnemosyne]

2. 32 down, thousands more to go. nt

[LovingA2andMI]

5. Should we fire every Correctional Officer nationwide.....

For the actions of a few. Also, did this incident happen in one of Florida's PRIVATIZED PRISONS.....

"When Florida lawmakers used a backdoor approach to try to privatize almost 30 state detention facilities in 2011, they likely did not anticipate the outcome. By the time the political dust had settled, the union representing prison employees had successfully sued to stop the privatization plan, the state’s top two corrections officials had resigned, and an ethics complaint had been filed against the governor for accepting campaign donations from companies that stood to benefit from privatizing state prisons.

But first some background.

Private Prisons in the Sunshine State

Florida’s Department of Corrections – the third largest in the nation – has been in a constant mode of expansion since a federal court began overseeing the state’s prison system due to a 1972 class-action lawsuit that challenged overcrowding and conditions of confinement. A prison population boom in the 1980s and a court-ordered limitation on the number of prisoners the system could hold created a dilemma.

At first prison officials erected tents to house prisoners at night, tore them down in the morning, and then put the prisoners on buses and shipped them around the state while court monitors inspected the prisons. This attempt to hide the true population count ended only after U.S. Marshals stopped a convoy of prison buses one morning. With the Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) being found in contempt, lawmakers passed legislation to provide a prison population relief valve by awarding good time credits known as gaintime.

However, several high-profile crimes sensationalized by the mainstream media gave state politicians an excuse to renew their tough-on-crime agenda. Sentencing laws were strengthened and funding was made available to build more facilities, resulting in Florida’s prison system exploding from just under 20,000 prisoners in 1980 to its current population of more than 101,000.

Operating prisons is expensive, though, and private prison firms stepped in with attractive claims of reduced costs. In 1993, Florida lawmakers decided to embark on an experiment in prison privatization. The authorizing legislation, Chapter 957, Florida Statutes, made a substantive change in existing law by putting prison management – traditionally a function of the state – in the hands of for-profit companies. In return for this paradigm shift, the law requires that private prisons provide at least a 7% savings compared to similar state facilities (though there is little evidence that such savings have actually been achieved).

Florida currently has seven privately-operated prisons which are run by three private prison firms. Four are managed by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), while the GEO Group operates two and MTC operates one. Approximately 10% of the state’s prisoners are held in private prisons.

During his 2010 gubernatorial campaign, current Florida Governor Rick Scott promised to cut government waste, and the FDOC’s $2.2 billion budget became part of the conversation. Fearing that prison staff would lose their jobs under Scott’s proposed budget cuts, the Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the union that represented state prison employees at the time and a staunch opponent of prison privatization, vigorously campaigned against Scott. Governor Scott’s electoral victory signaled a loss of clout by the PBA in the court of public opinion."

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2012/feb/15/florida-provides-lesson-in-how-not-to-privatize-state-prisons/

Just curious. Also Civil Service (state hired instead of hired by CCA or GEO Group Correctional Officers) C/O's are USUALLY Unionized also. So should we fire all Correctional Officers that are Unionized too, for the actions of a few bad apples.

[Mnemosyne]

8. Anyone that has ever abused a prisoner. nt

[ChiciB1]

3. OMG, So, So Much From Flor-EEE-DUH!

I hear something every single day. But then I've lived here for a very long time. My husband is a native, born in Tampa.

When I moved here it was much more Democratic... love Bob Graham even though he was more moderate than I am. Was just on a conference call with him 2 days ago regarding Amendment 1. Was good to hear him again.

[secondwind]

6. I have a friend in NC who has been spending time with Death Row inmates, teaching

them to write, write, write... and demonstrating to others that these people have HUMANITY, no matter what they did before.

Her program was so successful, that the warden has asked her not to return to the prison. Can u imagine that?

She writes for AlterNet, btw. Her name is Tessie Castillo. She is appealing this decision, but will probably not be able to go back to the prison.

[Stuart G]

9. Great News...for us..bad news for Mr Scott..

The asshole that is the current governor of Florida...every bit of bad news that reflects on how this asshole has run Florida, ...every bit is good. That may get people out to vote against him..every vote will count to destroy the real head of that prison system..