Category Archives: Florida Prison Issues
Florida Assisted Living Facility Punished After Wrongful Death & Other Atrocities—But Is It Enough?
In mid-January, a South Florida assisted living facility (New Era Community Health Center) was charged with improper care that led to wrongful death as well as serious injury and attempted suicide involving several of the facility’s residents. According to the Agency for Health Care Administration, these tragedies were the result of staff at the… Read More »
Criminal Defense Lawyers Conference Highlights Basic Changes Needed For Prison Reform
In late August, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) met in Atlanta, Georgia to discuss the dire need for prison reform in each state, including Florida. According to key speaker Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal, aside from prison reform interests, states that want to cut costs and decrease the number of repeat offenders… Read More »
Florida’s Dangerous Prisons Still Costing Taxpayers Too Much
We’ve previously discussed some of the corruption and abuse issues that plague Florida’s justice system. The Florida Department of Corrections is the largest agency in the state, with a budget of $2.3 billion each year. Still, in spite of all this spending, Florida prisons have experienced a number of high-profile abuses, deaths, and disturbances:… Read More »
Feds Investigating Abuse Allegations at Florida Women’s Prison
On August 8, the Miami Herald covered an important U.S. Department of Justice federal civil rights investigation into various abuses—including sexual misconduct by correctional officers—at Lowell Correctional Institution in Florida. The investigation comes after years of complaints and exposes involving current and former inmates describing serious abuses, including officers forcing inmates to have sex… Read More »
Cruel & Unusual Punishment: Prisoners Spending Too Much Time in Jail Waiting For Trial
The recent availability of the six-part television series Time: The Kalief Browder Story on streaming sites like Netflix has placed a special focus on the injustice of the criminal justice system in this country; in particular, the incidence of individuals serving significant time in prison without having been convicted of any crimes. This appears… Read More »
Florida Juvenile Lifers Linger In Prison In Spite Of Mandate to Have Sentences Reviewed
Despite Supreme Court rulings calling for reconsideration, hundreds of inmates in Florida who were juveniles when they committed crimes are currently waiting for their day in court (arguably in violation of their civil rights). Two Supreme Court rulings previously established that it is unconstitutional to impose mandatory life sentences without a chance for parole… Read More »
