ABUSE, AND SILENCE - Prison Legal News · ACULTURE OF VIOLENCE\ ABUSE, AND SILENCE By Bob Posey, Editor II pris~r at a North Florida ... by the same/tmale officer where she ~gan ...

ACULTURE OF VIOLENCE\ ABUSE, AND SILENCEBy Bob Posey, Editor

II pris~r at a North Floridaprison. on cTUrrhl's with a u'I'trdy brokenleg wuh steel pins in iI. approached hishOla/ng unit and asud the officer i,l.1ide Ihebuilding to allow him (0 uu lhe restroom.The request was refused becl/use it was /10/

lime lor 11ll! doors 10 opell so Ihe prisonerwou/djllSl ho\'/! to It'oil a halfhour. accord­mg [0 Ihe officer. Unable /0 ",ail. the pris­Dlltf lookt!d for a place to urinale OUI ofsight %n)'one. The hOJlJlIlg office'r coiledfor a security offiur. When the offin'r. aSugran'. arrh'ed and saw Ihe prisoner fl)"

,ng 10 urmate against the side ofthe build­/fig. he grabbed the prisonu from Wind.Jlam~d him inla the woll fon' first andthen Ih"" him 10 the ground. 'The prisonerlanded on Ihe broken leg causing him 10scream ill extreme pain.

The officer Ihen picketl Ihe prisonerup and tllrew !lim all tll~ ground again,cmainE further $Cf'eams, When a crowd of­other prboner$ $Inrted to gather to nl'1!

11,lrm war happening. the officer hit theemergency but/on on hIs tWD-way radio.Othrr officers rushed 10 the scene. A whee/­chair war broughl to Iransporl Ihe injuredprisoner 10 medical The prisoner askedanotMr prisoner to Jwnd h"" his radio 1001

\las knocked off .....hen Ihe officer slammedhIm against Ihe 11'0// The Sergeanl grabbrdlhe radio and smashed ilia the ground, lhen

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snatched the prisoner up and threw him 01the whee/cooir cOlL!ing hIm 10 fo// on ih,.ground again and )'t// for help. 17le sur­rOllllding prisoners ~came angry antimo~'Cd in on Ihe Sergeam, 14'110 paniehtlnnd began $hautlng for tile prisoners tobreak it lip.

The prisonl'rs walched ar the prisollerwith the broken leg WIJJ" finaff)' placed MC!in the wheelchmr and taken 10 mt'dlcal,Wier Ihe prisoner was charged wilh al­umptmg to incilt a riot and CU$aull on onofficer by the Sergeant The prisoner warfound guilty Oi a disciplinary hearing de·spite numerous prisOller \I·ll~sse.s lestifpngto lhe actual f'l't'nts, and the prisoner w/u

placed in solItary Close '\/anagemelll (CM)confinemenl for three ye'ar$ minimum Affgrie~'{lnces filed by 'he prisoner about IIu!Sergeanl's actiollS \I'tre summarily delliI'd,willi other officers, some of whom were 1101el'ell presenl, sllpporting the Sergeant S\'ersioll aflhe incident.

The FDOC central office affirmed thmsummary denial, based on the officer$' vel'·sian of n"enlS, and wllhout iIl\Ts,;galio/~

Twa weeb after Ihe incident a new policywos started at 'he prison. JumdlcapfNdprisaner$ 'will IN! al/Olted in the housingunits to use lhe f'C'strooms as needed Theprisoner with Ihe broken leg, howner, n­mains III CM confinemenl todtry.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

• AI Washington Correctional Insritu­lion confmement prisoner$ are prohibitedfrom looking oUlthe small j" by 36" win·dow in the cell door If Ihe prisoners arecaughl 100lClng OUI Illis window, the onlywindow in Ihe cell. Ihe)' hQl'e di$cipfinnryaction Inkn nguinsllhen! ranglllgfrom lossof nil pri\!ilegts. loss ofgain lime, and dis­Ciplinary confinement, Prisoners who at­lempt to griel'e lhis trealment are often re­taliated againsl with physical bealmgs un·del' the guise ofa "cell atractitNL ..

• A prisoner at Boku CorrectionalInslitution m the Close' Management con­finemenl und tried far day! to get an officerto gi\'l? him some f)'lenol, The officers kepttef/mg him Imer or 10 osk lhe nexl shift,which said the same Ihmg_ 1M prisonerwas hm'ing headaches from Ihe atremeheat in the crlls. w!ticlt are poorly l-enti·lated, After Ilo)'s of aslclng for nnd nOI f'C'­

ceMng Ihe supposedl)' freely obtained Tyle­nol the prisOiler gal upsel and slarted bong­Ing on his cell door whe/U!\'rr an officerentered lhe wing ....here he II"OS hGUSed toIry to gel the at/enlion of an officer 10 gellhe medica/ion.

The officers began telling hun to Slopthe bonging 0/1 lhe door, which the prisOMrdid nOI do, ~edmg the medicalitm, tellmgthem 01/ he wanted wos some TJ.(enol. Frve

FPLPDEATH ROW EULOGY

ACLU SUES WACKENHUTTHE RETURN TO DRACONIAN DAYS IN fDOCNOTABLE CASESMENTALLY ILL PRISONERSPETITION TO INITIATE RULEMAKING GRANTED001 INVESTIGATION STALLED-IMMIGRANTS CLAIM BEATINGS-ABUSE IN FLORIDA

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offiClrs Gp!Nortd ot the prisonu', ctll doorond ordtrtd him 10 ploct his hallds throughthtfoodflop 10~ handcuffid. The prisonuagain tried to lell lhem all he ....anted WOSsome Tylenol, but lhis M'OS {gnand and hI'....as again ordued to plDCe his ho.lIds to hecuffid. "'hM the prisoner refused, the. celldoor ....as ~Md lJllli lhe ji~'t officersIWMd ,he prisONr. E~'tn though he curledimo a dtftn.m~ baff on ,he floor ,he officersbegtJII beating, pum:hing and lciding ,he.prisantr. Handcuffs were ploced 011 himand Ihtn one afficer Itaned O\~r andsprtl}'td pepper spray directly Into Ihe pris­onus f!J'ts, moulh and nose even 'hough he.WO.f nOI resisting.

HI' WO.f Illen bodily piclred up andcarried 10 anolher cell. This specially de­signed cell is a 7' by 9' cellll'ith a concrelebed and su:cllailel. The window is CO\'crctlwilh sheel /lte/(ll, Ihc window In rlre door isco~'en.d wilh metal. nU! prisoner WO.f

stripped Mked, Ihrown inlo lhe. celi, lhe

door slammed shul ami Ihe lights cuI off. liewas Itft in lotal darkness. handcuffid be·hind his back. ruJkd, and covtred wilhburning pePiNr spray for 48 hours, He waslater returntd 10 his original cell, subdued,whtre he st{/ll/t.l'tr rectj~·td Ihe Tylenol.

• Confinemenl prisoners at MadisonCorrectJOIlOI Institu,ion ore punished forn'tn minor infractions by being placed Inspecial ctlls lhot hm't Ihe windows staltdIIp, The prison"rs are placed in Ihe cells fordDys at a limt, wi/haut a hearing or oppor­IUIIIf}' 10 COl1ItSl lhe punishmtnl, wherelhert is only a metal bed, no mattress, andwilh brJghllighls on 24 hours a day.

• ... prisoner 01 Everglades Correc­lional InstilUliOlI filed a gric\'ance again.st afemale officer who curscd lIim as he is go­illg 10 lunch olle day, The grievance wasdenied at all le~'els without illl'estigatlonand based purely on lhe officer's den/olafthe lIIcident (and ewn Ihaugh several otherprlsoll/!rs had previously grieved similartreatment by Ihe same officer), Laler, lheoffictr began singling the prisonu out forminor and often fabricated incidenls. wherein sight ofolher prisoners and slaffshe gelSin his face cuning him M'ith extremely foulupleti~'tS and telling him she con do any­Ihing SM M'onu and he can "file a griev­anuM ifhe deNsn 'f lilre it. The prisoner didfile sn~rol DlMr gn'f!\'anctS oboul the offi­cu's actions, (JII of which were summarilyd~nJed. Tht denials from lhe cenJral officein Tallahassee were boilerplate responsesstaling lhat Ihe institulional le~'el denialswere correct.

One day lhe. prisoner is approachedby the same /tmale officer where she ~gancursing hlm and jabbing her fingtr infO his

chnt. The prisoner pushed her hand away, 01

which paim tht officer hit the emergency bUI­Ion on her radio for bockup. SM grabbed Iheprisoner ond he pushes bock. accidentally mak­ing her fall. Sn~ral oilier offictrs arri\"t!d, sowlhe female officer 0If lhe ground and jumpedlhe prisoner. He M'M beaten to the ground byufTlt'ords ofun officers. On Ihe ground he M'M

JUI wilh fISts lJllli kicked rtpeaudl)', Finally heM1U handcuffed and laun to medical. Medicalnoted only minor abrasions despite seriousinjuries, He was Ihen taken to a confinementcell.

Lottr lhal nlghl as the prisoner wassleeping, lhe cell dOOf' 10 ,he secluded conjine­menl cel/ was suddenly opened and si!w:ralguards rushed in. jerked Ille prisoner from Ihebed and began bealing and kicking him, )'tJlingand cursing t/wt he WIll pay for hilling a /t­male officer. n,e prisoner was beol uncan­SciOIiS. Tltis was only Ihe begimting. For days.at irregular limes, the prisoner finds Ilis celldOOf' Ihrown open and officers IWhing in 10

beal, kick and Sp(1 on him Usually a sen(orranking officer will be present parlicipating Inor watching Ihe beating. lie is laId he will bekilled ifhe complains. All his olligoing mail isread and ctnsored by the confineme.m offiurs.

The prisoner ~as charged with assaull onan officer. for allegedly hilting Ihe female offi­ctr with his flSl s4l'tral times, knocking her 10the graund. htcause she hod asked him to pickups~ paper on lhe groumi which he refusedto do. He is found guifry and all appeals weredenied. Wltr he was placed in CAl confine­menl for three )'tars where he is ctmstonl/yrectiving new disCiplinary actions for fabri­COled infraclions by officer friends of the fe­male officer, lengthening Ilis stay in confine­mentfor each infraction.

• Family mrmbers of prisoners who ai­

lempl to complaill to prlSOI/ officials abolltabuse are OftI'll Tlldely disregarded, told Ilteybeller mind Iheir own bllsiness, or that Ihe pris­oners are lying 10 Ih,m about what happened.Complainls in the pasl that hal'e been senl 10

the gO~'ernar 's office or other Slate officialsf,al'e often been n/trrtd back 10 Ihe FDOC tof.ondle, whiCh mQlI often re/trs lhem bock toIhl! inslitution, which results l1l threalS or re­lalialion against Ihe prisoner, There is no es­lablished independent camplaim pracess forfamily members or friellds of FloridD prison-

"'-The above are just a vcry few elCllm­

pies of .... hat is occurring in Florida's prisonsthat the public is unaware or. The Florida De­partment of Correclions has operated as alargely unaccountable and closed segment orthe criminal justice syslem in Florida for dee­ades. Correctional officers and prison adminis­trators have been allo....ed to operate behindclosed doors, controlling Florida prisons llS

FLORIDA PRISON LEGALPERSPECfIVESPOBox 666-387

Chuluota, Florida 32766Publiltlina Division at.

n-.._uc.u.."g~lIl*,-:'

A SOI(c)(3) Non Profit Orpniution(401) l6l<l2OO

Web: htlp:fhDc:mbers.aol~

FPLAO DIRECTORS

TERESA BURNSBOBPOS£Y

DARRYL McGLAMRYDAVIDW. BAUER. Esq.

FPLPSTAfF

N:IIIthIr TERESA BURNSEditor BOB POSEY

L.youtEditor JOHN OAKSR.-dI SHERRl JOHNSON

BRIAN MORRISAdr'r*I....... USA FAULKNER

TRACIROSE--;--===­FPLP ADVISORY BOARD

WILUA),f VAN fOYO::PHlUP BAGLEY - SRAlON SJMlI«)NS

TERR.'! VAUGHN _MlCHA£l.l.-\MBIUXAlJ,N J, COlTON - JAMES QlJlGLEY

JAMES TAn.oR - nJDlE ffiOKl'OWEJtCARL WEU.S - GUlIN SMJTlI

MARX SHEKWOOD - EARN HOWARDUNDA GOTTUE8 • SUSANNB M. MANNING

JANEPRATI - PAUL ADAMSK1MBJ!JU.'!1'£OlIUlS • PnER Bu.KI'ON

JAMES NAJOR - ENRJQUi OIAZ

FLO.m" ""SON W)AL PDSJ'Ecm,'ES 10 pulIlIohM W.-Wrb)' F\ori4o rn-. Lop!Ald~toe., 1m2E. CoIotUl 0._. Ooiuolo. rI 2U~" ...... 1wIdr.. Fl'Uo. ,O. _ 66(1.2(1, CIou1IcKt, n. 22166.

fftI 10 • Nooo"".~~ _ 1M F1IlrWa

P"'- UId ailIIiAaI juab OJ...... ..0 "'" pi of lJfO'fIdlooI •wWdo l'or _ ~ on4.-.-. oIl'ocdot pri-..tholt fUnlli.., Mtftd IDwd -.""" Iho .-oIl"'bIl< otFIorido on4 Iho u.s ot crimo ...s rocl<li.l......lal_ot r....ilylW. <hil Ii."",, ...........~ot-'-- IIIIl opponuoiIln, PfIlIIlIlIIiolI ~1olI ...... _b ,n-., onol~~ or,n- oII\daIo,.... ..... m.P;....pooI ...~n.~ .. FrLP __ -w,. ,dIOa "'"..... ot Iho ......._ IUII". PubIi<aIiooo or FPLP I, ........ by y.... lloo I'OId« 1lIOI IlnoaP~I.IIII.-.J ~ Ibt._,... ~ SIW. au-. no--.-_""--.

1PU' ...... onol -'"'" .. •--..MIcla, __~ onol lbtpoooiWll~ Sobocripdoa ........ WI 1"•• ' .,.dol or "'" _ of FPlJ' I'!'U".--.or ruII~ Ibt..-Uria.. 0. • ..-. of ..a I.I1II aaIl '-"- ..~~-=- ..a_

....... io __ ia FrLP-"""FrLP tool .., .....-__ OR 0Sc00iIl00I1a dol .....

NonCEThe inrOl;ftWl9n in this pillicabon ~Idc:s /lCWI

and .ClP'nlOll rrom VI.nOO.lS saurca and may notprovick IUITICIaI\ lIlrormatiorl ~ deal with a Ieplpl"obIem. Neitha' the publisher, not suff, "'~or~IS the fUi~hty orthle inrormall;Oll in 1lI1lpllb(ieatlOll for IIlSUlUUIl~ ""'...... ...atulnlCY or other knoYoied penon in a dlSP.Ulldami IIiouJd be consul ror~ III IrpImas This publicatim should no! be relied on aslull'lonlllJVe cilltion.

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 2

fiefdoms where prisoners may be punished alwhim without oversight from the OUlside.

When conditions do become so badthat attention is focused on the department, asin the July 17, 1999, beating murder of death­row prisoner Fronk Valdes, or as with theabuse suffered before the alleged suicides ofJefferson Correctional Institution women pris­oners Florenee Krell and Christine Elmore. orthe torture of John Edwards at Charlolte Cor­rectionlilinstilution before his alleged suicidc:,the department has historically been allowedto write the news releases and control whalthe public hears. And lhey are always"isolated incidenls. ,. Governor Bush even at­templed 10 lell the publie lhe Valdes incidentwas an "isolaled" cvent.

When state legislntors aUempl toqueslion the department to find out what ishappening in the prisons. the Ic:gislators them­selves complain they arc lied to or stone­walled unlil something else demands lheirattention away from thc department. And lhesc:c:recy is compounded where correctionaloffiars and rooc staff are prohibited fromlaJldng 10 the news media, or anyone oUlsidelhe department, about eonditions in the pris­ons, upon penalty ofterminlllion.

As the public's perccplion of crimeand the solution to the crime problem hasbeen distorted for political gain with who canget "tougher" on crime, criminals and prison­ers, on the inside of the prisons the conditionshave worsen to the point lh:!t il is almost aguarnntee that those released will be worsethan when lhey enlered,

From the depanment's goal of reha­bilitation of prisoners through education andmeaningful work while ineatterated in the1970's, il went to warehousing and an inten­tionally created "'revolving door" to justify theprison building binge of the 1980's and early1990's. Now, unknown to the public, the de­pnrtmenl has been engaged for several yearsin lhe neXl step designed to ensure thaI whilelhe crime mtes fall the prisons will stay fulland recidivism mtes remain at an all time highin Floridll. That involves lhe use of sensol)'­depriving, inhumane, solitary confinement onthousands of Florida prisoners.

Confinement in such conditions thathave been repeatedly proven throughoul theages 10 be mentally and physically detrimentalto those exposed to it. Those who cannot ad­jusl 10 such eondilions are ollen further men­llllly and physieally abused to the breakingpoint. Even those already mentally ill thaI arccoming to fill the prison beds paid for WilhUlxpa)'er dollars are not exempl from suchincarceralion, worsening their illness in manyinstances.

In lhe news reports following FmnkValdes death at the hands of prison guards atFlorida State Prison (FSP), that (unusually)gained national attention, I was disma)'ed tonOle lIS the mainstream media coverage pro-

gresscd lhal the FDOC was allowed to focusthe mcdia's attention IllmosttOlally on FloridaStllte Prison. Although at Ihe beginning, whenthe FBI first announced il would invcstigateabuse in the entire FDOC system, there washope that more eovemge would be given 10other prisons where lhe conditions arc as bad,or worse, as those at FSP. That hope began 10fade as lhe department was allowed to rna­nipulote the news media" and thus the public,to focus almost entirely on FSP.

Of course, FSP has needed such atten­tion for decades, horrible abuses have been therouline there for yellrs. But make no mistake,the abuse is nOl confined 10 FSP. As noted bythe FBI, there appears to be a "subculture ofcivil righls violations and physical abusc"lhroughout the Florida Department of Correc­lions, but this has received lillie or no atlen­tion.

Instead, the public is told through lhenews media that while there may have been aproblem at FSP. this will be simply correctedwith a camem installed on the confinemenl X­Wing III thaI prison (albeil a camero tOlallycontrolled by prison officials). No mention ismade of the fact that FSP is composed almostentirely of solitary confinement Wings, wherelibuse lind bealings also occur.

llte FSr warden lit lhe time FrankValdes was beaten to denth, James Crosby, Jr.,notorious among prisoners (and prison stafT,no doubt) for condoning abusive conditions atnumerous prisons, belatedly lold other FSPstaff to "stop acting like criminals," bUl deniedthaI he was at fnull in any way. And, Crosbyasserted. if there are really problems at FSP(as if he was in the blind), then they will becorrecled, with the implicalion that will solveAll the FDDC's problems. In other words,gullibly, do not believe lhe reports thaI abuseis widespread in the system as a whole, andgelling worse as the department shifts tQ abuscas II management 1001 and scnsory deprivingsolilary confinement as a primary method ofwarehousing prisoners.

In one of the reports following Val­des' dealh, FOOC Secretary Michael Moorestaled that federnl investigators will try tobreak do"" the "cullure of protectiveness" inthe prison system where officers arc unwilling10 report abuse and violations by other offi­cers. Nol acknowledged by Michael Moore (orperhaps not even known to him) is that this"code of silenee" penneates the system fromthe lOp 10 the bottom, and not just among"officers." You eilher play by the old rules.keep your mOI.uh shut, look the olher way, oryou 1Y0n't work for the rDOC long, lhose insenior positions or at higher mnks will makesure of that. That is an integml and ingrainedaspecl of the department that it is doubtfuleven Michael Moore can impact. The fonnerrooc secretary, Han)' Singletary, nevercould, and finally gave up even trying to.

As the news media and politicians

have played the crime fear card to build andkeep filled the ever-expanding prison indus­trial/economic syslem from taxpayers' deeppockets, with lhe ranting slogans of gettingtough on crime and offenders, the prison sys­tems have gone from bad to worse. Manyprison officials and prison guards have IlIkenlhese senlimenls to heart, viewing the "gcltp,ugh on prisoners" rhelorie as a personalmandate justifying verbal, mental and physi­cal libuse of those in their control. After all,prisoners arc now largely excluded from ob­taining legal redress for abuse under new fed·eml and state laws, and wilh lhe prison Sys­tem a closed and secret society. and wilh pub.lic sentiment so strongly against prisoners,there is no eheck and balance to pTC\'entprison officials from mistreating this disen­franchised and despised class of people.

Adding to the problem, Florida pris­oners have largely had a "planlation" mental­ity drilled into them so thaI the majority arcwilling conspiralors with their guards. Anyself respect or respect for others they mayhave when they entered prison is quickly sur­rendered, because that is the way officialswant it. It's easier 10 control those who areafraid to talk back. Even knowing that beal­ings and abuse is occurring in lhe confinementunils, those in a posilion to try to bring alten­tion 10 it won't. Some won't out of fear, someout of apalhy, some dcceive themselves inlothinking it can never happen to them. evenwhen they arc certainly on Ihe future list forsame. Until prisoners begin sticking up forthemselves and olhers (as il now appears thatFrank Valdes WIlS trying to do, resulling in hisbeing beal to death), until thcy'geltheir peo­ple actively contacting legislators and thenews media, the system will only get worse.

I'd like to leave readers wilh thesethoughts. If lhe FDOC had been allowed toinvcsligate Fronk Valdes demh wilhout out­side oversighl il would have been establishedthat he "beat himself to death,'- as the officers'attorneys claimed. How many more in the pasthave "beat themselves 10 death"? How manyother prisoners have been wrongfully beatenor abused with such being covered up withsuch weak and boldly cavalier lies?

The only reasons that Valdes' deathgot the allention it did was because in Febru­ary Govcrnor Bush ordered the FOLE 10 in­vestigale any suspicious deaths or suicides ofprisoners in the FDOC, and because fonu­naldy a few prisoners like William VanPoyck and Michael Lambrix were not afraidto speak OUI and try to alen those on the out­side of whal was happening at FSP, whichcoincidenlally followed a mull i-page May30th special report on FSP and "X" Wing inthe Miami Herald by reporter Meg Laughlin.

However, the FOOC still does nothave any independent oversight in lhe hun­dreds of cases where prisoners may be beatenalmost to death or otherwise be subjecled 10

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 3

;nhumnne conditions of confincmcnt at allprisons. Our families and friends on Ihc out­side must push legislators for an independentoversight committee wilh some family mem­berw'friends of prisoners on il Illld with aUlhor­ily 10 emer any prison. speak to any prisoneror st3fT member who cOnlacts Ihem, observethe confinement conditions, and identify prob­lems and assist in wor~ing to find solutions 10conttt them. Florid3 prisons must be exposedto the Sunshine of public scrutiny.•

DEATH ROW EULOGYBY Willialll Van Poyck

On July 17, 1999, my friend and codefen­dant Frank Valdez, was stomped andbeat~n 10 death in his X-wing cell by alarge group of Florida State Prisonguards. As FSP prisoners know only 100well Ihis beating was uncommon onlybecause Frank actually died. And, bUi fora series of evenls which led to the Gover­nor becoming personally involved thismurder would have been covered up justas so many other bemings arc. Nineguards (a captain, five sergeants, andIhree C.O.I's) have been suspended. TheF.D.L.E. is investigating and the state at­torney has publicly labeled il "a clearcase of murder." Search warrants wereexecuted and evidence seized from Iheguards homes. Charges are expected to bebrought. Now, the FBI has joined thecase, expanding their probe to the entireDOC, "based upon Ihe large volume ofbellting complnints they have receivedprior to and subsequent to" Fmnk's mur­der.

Predictably, the guards' allomey, whileadmitting that" a terrific fight" occurredin that cell (where guards used 3 cans ofpepper spray, a lear gas grenade, and anelectric stun shield on Frank), hasclaimed that Frank's injuries were allself-inflicted. Autopsy results showedthat every single rib in his body was bro­ken and his testicles were crushed. Bootmarks were clearly visible on Frank'sbody. The attorney cynically maintainsthat th~ ribs were broken when guardsvaliantly perfomled CPR for 40 minutes.Also predictably, the attorney has labeledFronk as "an animal", a "serious trouble­maker" lind an "extremely violem disci­plinary problem".

Fllr from being an "animal," Frank wasan intelligent, thoughtful man, who never

hesitated to stand up and speak his mindwhen he witnessed the physical abuseshere. Frank's outspokenness earned himthe wrath of these guards, who targeledhim with contrived disciplinary reports inorder to keep him isolated on X-wing.This was not the first time Frank wasbeaten, and his life had been threatenedon more than one occasion. On July17 1999 Frank's refusal to be cowed andintimida~ed cost him his life when on thatmorning he once again voiced objectionsto the prisoners around him being beaten.

Make no mistake about it, this was notan "isolated incident." Briefly now thepublic spotlight is shining on FSP and thelong standing physical abuses going onhere. But it will all be for naught unlessfundamenlal, systemic changes are made,both in allitudes and policies. Staff at

FSP, like all organiUttions, take their cuefrom the top down. For the past 18months staff and prisoners alike haveheard the message, loud and clear, thntbeatings arc acceptable, encouraged, andwill not be investigated. This consistentfailure to investigate complaints of beat­ings goes right to DOC central office inTallahassee. And, with prisoners' accessto the courts severely restricted by stateand federal legislation, combined withand increasingly hostile attitude by thejudicial)' towards "prisoners' rights",prisoners have no real recourse or remedywilhin the system. Those compelent, pro­fessional correclional officers within theranks who are nOI down with the bealingprogram clearly see which way the politi­cal winds blow, and they realize thal anyobjections therelO are detrimental to theircareers. They remain silent, or quit. Thus,Ihal core group of undisciplined guardswho Ihrive on these, and other illegal ac­tivilies, end up running the prison by de­fault, being promoted for their deeds andspreading their virus fm1her. Unchecked,as with any sickness, such actions lead tototallakeover of the host system. This, ofcourse, is commonly known and unde~.

stood by prisoners. A generally apathellcpublic understands liule and cares evenless. Yel unless the public, through theirelected officials, demands more Bccount­abililY, and begins to question the entireexisting system and structure, prisons willcontinue to be powder kegs reminiscentof the 1960's and 1970's, with predict-

able and inevitable results.

CHANGES IN TOPMANAGEMENT

POSITIONS QUESTIONED

Some black legislators in Flor­ida have questioned some of the changesbeing made by the Department ofCorrec­tion's CFDOq new secretary. Under Mi­chael Moore, who was appointed byGovernor Jeb Bush earlier this year tohead the department, senior managementpositions have become even more whitemale staffed. And Moore has ordered ascaling back of a program designed 10

help more women reach managementposilions within the department.

Shortly after taking over lIle topFDOC position Michael Moore has beenreplacing mnny of those in top manage·ment posilions al the depanment's centraland regional offices. The percentage ~f

white males in senior management pOSI­tions has risen from 65 10 78, while thenumber of black male senior managershas fallen from 7 to 2.

State Rep. Josephus Eggelleton(D) said those numbers were"devastating." He commented, "n·~t saysto me Ihat Mr. Moore is insenSllive tominority hiring." Moore defended thenumbers by Slating that il is too early inhis tenure to judge his hiring prnctices,and Ihat the departmenl is in a state offlux, and that those numbers will fluctu­ate as he continues to make changes.

In South Carolina, where Mooreheaded that state's DOC from 1995 to1998, Sen. Kay Patterson, a black De­mocrat, said he complained about similarchanges that Moore made in that state'sdepanment of corrections when he tookover. In comment to the changes thaIMoore has made in Florida, Panersonsaid, "Ya'lI gOI heU on your hands. Mikewill take you back to the plantation." Aresulting study in S.C. showed thatblacks were more than twice as likely aswhiles (0 hold the mosl dangerous prisonsecurity positions, and whites more likely10 start at higher pay than blacks.

Moore says that he inherited aracist system in South Carolina and thathe felt allacks on his record were politicalmotivated. He commenled, "I get emo­tional about this. My detractors in SouthCarolina unfairly played the race card 10

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 age

politically hurt me."Florida Rep. Alex Villalobos

(R), chairman of the committee that over­sees the corret:tions budget, said thatMoore should be held accountable at theend of the year.[Source 11tt F/Mida T,mes·Union llI2I'}9J •

FDOC CHANGES

• The Florida Department of Cor­ret:tions (fDOC) has went from five re­gional offices to four. Each region alsohas a new regional director. The Proba­tion and Parole offices have been dividedinto four regions also. See Chart in thisissue.

• The department has also madeinstitutional mailroom and Colonels'/Majors' Clerk positions civilian staffedposifions. There is talk of making all thewarehouse and canleen officer positionscivilian jobs also, but that has not beenfinalized. Some institutions are using apilot projet:t of changing officers' shiftsto: 6AM to 2PM, 2PM to IOPM, andlOPM to 6AM. This mayor may nOI beadopted statewide depending on the re­sullS of the pilot projeclS.

• II is also suspected that therewill >cveral changes in wardens at in­stitutions. This was being looked at in theFDOC central office before the murder offrank Valdes at FSP on July 17, 1999. Itis expected that there will be some retire­ments and possible firings. There has al­ready been a shakeup among the staff inthe central office in Tallahassee followingMichael Moore becoming the new FOOCsecretary. More changes in the centraloffice can be expected. Once the movessettle down, FPLP will try to get a listingpublished of who is in what position.

• Former FDOC Secretary Rich­ard Dugger is back and has been servingas the Deputy Assistant Secretary of In­stitutional Management in the central of­fice.

• Good news for female prisoners!After two years of working with the Flor­ida Corrections Commission to get it, Jef­ferson CI was finally converted from afemale inslitution to a male institution.The women have been transferred to Her­nando CI and Dade CI Main Unit. TheYouthful Offenders who were sent toDade CI Main Unit last year have beensent 10 Hendry Cis Main Unit, which willbecome a CM prison. A significant ,per-

centage of male guards at Hernando andDade CI MIU will be transferred to othermale prisons in the region.

• FOOC Set:retary Michael Mooresaid earlier this year that he plans to moveHIV positive prisoners to special AIDSprisons. Moore said that the segregationwould result in beuer care and earlierdrug therapy intervention. While head ofthe South Carolina DOC, Moore orderedHIV testing and segregated prisoners test­ing positive to a wing of a maximum·security prison. More than 2500 Floridaprisoners are currently identified as hav­ing AIDS.

• The responsibility for reviewingand overseeing the inmate grievance pro­cedures has been moved from theFDDC's Office of Ihe Inspector Generalto the FDOC's Bureau of Legal Services.

•ACLU SUES WACKENHUT

During June the ACLU sued Wack­enhut Corrections Corp. after that com­pany refused to hand over internal recordsconcerning the operation of South BayCorrectional Institution a privately oper·ated prison located in 50mh Florida_ TheACLU is seeking a court order to compelWackenhut to tum over documenlS con­cerning internal investigations, evalua­tions, personnel files, warden memos andother records from South Bay.

The lawsuit also claims thai Wock­enhut is trying to cover up records of sex­ual harassment, abuse of prisoners, andother allegations at the Palm BeachCounty facility. The ACLU claims thaIWackenhut is subject to public recordlaws in producing the sought after recordsbecause the company has completely as­sumed the Department of Corrections'governmental obligations to incarcerateprisoners. The ACLU became concernedabout the operation of the facility afterreuiving several complainlS of abusefrom prisoners.

The attorney for the ACLU whofiled the lawsuit stated that Wackenhut's"intent is to frustrate the public's accessto how taxpayers dollars are being spentand how the prisoners are. being treatedor mistreated." The lawsuit al50 claimsthat Wnckenhut is earning excessive prof­its at the prison, which is one of five pri­vately operated prisons in Florida, two ofwhich including South Bay and Moore

Haven CI are operated by Wackenhut.The ACLU settled a similar lawsuit

during May against Correctional ServicesCorp., which operates the Pahokee YouthDevelopment Center for the state Depart­ment of Juvenile Justice. That companyagreed to release thousands of pages ofrecords concerning the ueaunent of juve·niles at the facility and agreed to pay theACLU SII ,400 in coslS and attorney fees.

•COMMENTARY

SEE THIS BADGE, GIVE UPTHE DONUTS

During June, Florida Oepanmcnt ofCorrections security officers finally gotbadges to wear on their uniforms. Thismove was taken 10 make them appear moreprofessional and more like actual lawen­forcement officers. While the badges maymake some officers feel more professionaland serve as a reminder to act more re­sponsible, some officers may allow thebadges to go to their heads and make thembelieve that they are on the same profes­sional level as police officers. The badgedoes not make the person, however. Aslong as the Depanmenl of Corrections con­tinues to hire anyone who applies for ajobto try to keep positions filled with the 33percent employee turnover rate, the addi­tion of a badge will nOI make much differ­ence.

For example, just three weeks afterthe new badges were given to officers, oneused the DOC badge 10 get a discount 1Il arestaurant and gOI caught.· We can seesome of them now going back to the JiffyFood stores, their former places ofemploy·ment, and Irying to use the badge to getfree sodas and food. Just imagine ifcorrec­tional officers are allowed to carry guns inpublic, which is what they want next, theywill surely be trying to arrest people. Canyou imagine a high speed chase with theseKeystone Cops shooting up everything onthe road. What a scary Ihought.

[°Soutce.. The flL PBA CDnfftions Rev_.July/Aug 991 •

THE RETURN TODRACONIAN DAYS IN FDOC

By Mark Sherwood

Medical and psychological experi­mentation of Jews in Nazi Germany; cap-

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 5

riviry in bamboo cages, tonure, starvation.isolation of American POW's in Koreaand Vietnam which resulted in insanityand long lenn mental defects. Atrocitiesin hislory, which shocked, repulsed andoutraged this nation's citizenry. Howeversimilar treatment today of men andwomen housed in Florida prisons' CloseManagement (CM) units is not merelycondoned but enthusiastically encouragedby prison officials.

Florida lawmakers have been steadilymoving to implement harsher punish­ments for convicted felons. In addition tolonger sentences with minimum gain­lime allowances, the living conditions ofconfinement in prisons throughout theState have steadily become more inhu­mane.

Planners for the Florida Oepanmentof Corrections (FOOC) have discoveredan expedient, cost efficient method 10

house more inmates with less expendi­tures for security, medical care, inmateactivities and educationaVvocational pro­grams. This discovery came in the formof pre-fab "Tee" buildings which beganspringing up in Florida prisons in 1995.Each Tee building houscs about 258 pris­oners and was constructed to the sameexact specificalions devised by FOOC.These units were designed for maximumsecurity where prison inmates spend all oftheir lime in permanent lock-down. Thecells consist ofa 6-foot by 9-foot concretefloor area. two steel bunks, a steel toiletand sink. The small windows are coveredwith corrugated panels, which preventprisoners from seeing oul of their cells.

Allhough the units were initiallymeant for use as general population hous­ing, Florida's recent decline in inmatepopulation and funding has altered thatplan. Prison officials are now escalatingthe movement of "CM" prisoners intothese units where a prisoner is housed vir­tually without leaving his small environ­ment. The only time a prisoner leavesthese cells is for five minute showersthree limes a week and IWO hours a weekin an "exercise yard" which consists of afenced in cage measuring approximately24 feet by 17 feel, this only when securityallows,

Placement of prisoners in CM hasenabled FOOC to reduce manpower ex­penditures due in pan to the suspension ofeducationaVvocational activities and byseverely limiting prisoner movement. In

each unit over 250 prisoners are secured,at times, by as few as two correctionalofficers per eight-hour period.

In the past only the State's most vio­lent criminals were housed in CM units,however today because of a statewidemove to creale these units in virtuallyevery major institution and Ihe lack ofsufficient numbers of truly dangerousprisoners to fill those newly constructedunits, FOOC officials have begun to placeprisoners in CM units as a result of suchheinous infiuctions ranging from "dirtyurine" samples (detection of drugs in anprisoners urine analysis], to the pilferingofsandwiches from food service kitchens,along with other minor infractions, whichuntil recently would result in shon peri­ods of confinement or extra duty as pun­ishment. These infractions now result inplacement in CM units for up to threeyears or more where the general popula­tion and correctional officers can be"protected from such dangerous behav­ior," according to the FOOC,

Since the inception of CM units inFlorida there has been a great deal of dis­cussion abOUI CM confinement problems,such as, poor food preparalion and han­dling, harassment, assaults by correc­tional staff, and generally poor living con­ditions. While these problems need to beresolved, very little attention has beengiven 10 the adverse psychological andemOlional affects eM confinement has onprisoners. The fact is that an- inmate'spsychological well-being is arbitrarilydisregarded by FOOC for the sake of de­partmental cost CUIS, FDOC's response tothis charge thus far has been 10 claim thatCM units are not a form of punishmentbut are merely a classification tool. How­ever, the facts disprove this position.

A prisoner who is "classified" to aCM unit is denied contaci visits with fam­ily and friends and only can receive fam­ily visits through specially constructedcages only after months or lockdown,then only if he has been free of discipli­nary infractions; no food itcms nre al­lowed to be purchased through inmalecanteens to supplement the inadequatediet, purchases of personal hygiene itemsand writing materials can only be orderedonce a month; a total of 15 minutes aweek to shower, alloned in three 5'minuteperiods; outdoor access for two hours aweek in caged areas, for some inmatesthis is complele with leg irons and hand-

cuffs. These are just a few of the punitiveconditions applied to CM inmates underthe guise ofa "classification 1001",

The overwhelming number of prison­ers now being classified to CM units donot fall in the extremely limited calegorycalling for this harsh treatment. The resultsof which are:

Substantial mental deterioration in a shonamount of time. which makes inmatesmore impulsive and uncontrollable, Thissends them funher and further inlo thebelly of the beast with no way out.(I)

The facts indicate that CM prisonerssuffer adverse psychological effects whichstudies have shown cause insanity. FOOCis arbitrarily imposing these men!allydamaging conditions on literally thou­sands of inmates for the sake of the FDOCeconomy.

During Ihe early 1800's in New York,a prison system was devised called the"Auburn System", This system was basedon isolation and silence much like the CMunits now being used to house prisoners inFDOC. However, the system failed partlybecause the rigid rules and isolation droveinmates insane.(2) Based upon these factsthe question must be asked, Why then is asystem that was found [0 drive prisonersinsane, therefore disbanded nearly two­hundred years ago, being used by FDOCtoday?

Throughout the 1960's and 70's, psy­chological experimentations were per­formed on inmates in Amcrican prisonswith disastrous results. The results of suchan experimem were addressed in an articlewritten by Jessica Mitford in a 1973 Harp­ers magazine article entitled: "The TortureCure: In Some American Prisons, It Is Al­ready 1984." The revelations in that anieleare credited with contributing to the end ofradiation and honnone experiments onprisoners in Oregon,(3) However, themain thrust of Mitford's anicle was to ex­pose the usc of prisoners as "lab rats". Acomparison depicting results of an experi­ment perfonned on college students de­signed 10 test the affeets ofisolntion on thehuman mind was revealed:

College students volunteered andwere paid 20 dollars a day to live in tiny,solitary cubicles with nothing to do. Theexperiment was supposed to last at leastsix weeks, but none of the students couldtake it for more than a few days. Many

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 6

experienced vivid hallucinations-onesrudent in panicular insisted that a tinyspaceship had got into the chamber andwas buzzing around shooting pellClS athim. Some of the adverse effects lastedfor at least a year after they came out ofthe deprivation chamber.(4)

Ms. Mitford funher commented in asubsequent imicle, in Harpers, "KindAnd Usual Punishment: The Prison Busi-.ness" (1973). In a chapter detailing psy­chological experiments on prisoners, sheqUOles a 1970 prophecy made by thendirector of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons,Dr. James V. Bennen, about prisons inthe year 2000 AD:

In my judgment the prison systemwill increasingly be valued, and used, as alaboratory and workshop of socialchange.(5)

Florida's CM units are a part of to­days reality that Dr. Bennen envisionednearly thirty years ago.

In 1991 the Human Rights Watchdescribed FDOC's model CM unit knownas "X" Wing located at Florida StatePrison (FSP) as "a panicularly glaringexample of.. .a maxi-maxi [maximumsecurity confinement cell] with condi­tions particularly difficult to bear." Theyconcluded that incarceration there"clearly amounts to corporal punishmentexplicitly prohibited under the U.N. Stan­dard Minimum Rules for the Treatmentof Prisoners."

Jack Fevurly, a retired federal prisonadministrator for a 10-state area, studiedX Wing in the early 90's and wrote a re­port that said it was not up to nationalcorrectional standards. He described it as"draconian" and "cruel.'· Recemly, Fe­wrly said: "It is still not up to these stan­dards. Inmates should have minimalthings-like five houn of exercise aweek, books. a place to write, a time togo outside. If you take too much awaythey become so severely impaired they'rea bigger problem when they gel out thenwhen they came in:'

History shows that isolation experi­ments involving prisoners at Dnchau were

Wtb Plgt Addrul:hllp:J/mrmbrrs.•ol.romlrplplrpl p.hlml

£.om.il Addrrss: rplp&tol.C1lmTtltphonr: ('-07) 568-0200

among the vivisection experiments con­ducted by Nazi doctors.(7) The samework of these discredited Nazi doctors isbeing carried out in the physically andmentally abusive CM units throughoutFlorida masquerading as "classificationtools" today.

Despite this voluminous credible in­formation FDOC has made no move toimprove the conditions in CM units, infact they have not only increased the con­struction of more CM units and increasedmovement of prisoners into those units,but have steadily made the conditions be­come more "draconian" and "cruel."

Prisoners now being exposed to theseconditions have recently lost the only ave­nue available to them to seek redress fromthe inhumane conditions and the psycho­logical deterioration they are suffering inFDOC CM units. This relief was in theform of civil rights complaints [USCA 42section 1983] which once could be filedwith the federal courts to allow the reviewof such claims.

The Prison Litigation Refornl Act(PLRA), enacted in 1996, is compellingevidence that the federal government wasaware of their potential liability in the re­sults of prisoner's placement in conditionssuch as Florida's CM units. The PLRAeffectively precludes a prisoner fromseeking redress of mental or emotionalconditions resulting from isolation units(CM), unless he can also prove physicalinjury. See: Adams \'. Highlower, No.J:96-CV-268J-G (N.D. Tex.Sepl.25, 1996). As federal officials cor­rectly surmised, this will not bc possibledue to the intemal unseen affects of psy­chological damage.(6) Almost diabolicalin its design, this provision of the PLRAeffectively prohibits lawsuits stemmingfrom the psychological tonure rampant inFlorida prisons.

Arguably, in addition to FDOC's dis­regard for prisoners physical, emotionaland mental well being, one of the mostilTesponsible aspects of FDOC's use ofthese units is Ihe practice of releasingprisoners directly from CM units, at theexpiration of lheir sentences, into society.Critics have suggested that FDOC createa program that would afford a prisonertime to adjust before being released into acommunal society and offer psychologi­cal therapy. Under the present system anewly released CM prisoner finds himselfone moment in a tiny cell having not in-

teracted with other humans, for in somecases years, to be suddenly thrust intosociety and expected to function nor­mally. Not only is this practice guaran­teed to result in a newly released prison­ers failure to successfully adjust in soci·ety, but exposes an unaware public toemotionally and menially unstable menapd women who have been recently re­leased from CM isolation units. Theseprisoners can only be described as"walking time bombs".

Two Florida prisoners, housed atFSP, William Van Poyck and Enrique J.Diaz, have experienced the depraved con­ditions first hand of FOOC's CM units,and were the first to begin an attack ofFDOC's isolation eM units in an attemptto improve treatment of prisoners throughthe use of Florida's grievance procedureand finally in civil rights complaints filedin federal coun. SEE: Bass, Bean, Dia= &Van Poyck v. Singletary, Case No. 96­3095 (11th Cir.); Diaz & Van Poyck v.Singletary, Case No.96-3495 (11th Cir.)

In the past they have gained somesuccess. William Van Poyck, in 1993,settled out of coun with FDOC as a resultof one such suit. Van Poyck challengedwhat he called overly harsh conditions insolitary confinement, suing the FDOC.The FDOC, rather than risk a coun banle,agreed to settle with Van Poyck for whathis lawyer said was about $45,000 toS50,000. However, the enactment ofPLRA in 1996 forecloses review to pris­oners seeking relief from the debilitatingmental and emotional effects of theirplacement in CM units. Van Poyck andDiaz for many years have raised com­plaints of the conditions being addressedtoday. William Van Poyck has been inthe unique position of being housed atFlorida's most infamous prison [FSPl andexperiencing first hand some of the sys­tem's worst human rights violations on"X" Wing.

The inhuman treatment described bythese men in their suits has recently beenvalidated in the wake of the beating deathof Frank Valdez by guards at FSP. Thisoccurrence is in no way "isolated" asclaimed by Governor Jeb Bush, prisonerscomcnd it exemplifies the everyday abuseinflicted by FDOC staff throughout theslate. Daily in the federal courts of Flor­ida, numerous civil right complaints havebeen filed describing beatings and generalabusive treatment of prisoners in CM

F.P.LP. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 7

units and open population, however.most have been disregarded by the courtsas "frivolous" complaints, or been lost inthe flurry of litigation now being lodgedagainst FDOC by its prisoner's.

Medical expens have proven that therype of conditions imposed on prisonersin FDOC CM units results in emotionaldysfunction which ultimately drives aprisoner insane. Critics predict that dueto the long term adverse psychologicaleffects resulling from CM units, a grow·ing number of recently released eM pris·oners will tum to violence when facedwilh the daily stress of society, harminginnocent ·... ictims who are unaware ofFDOC's "time bombs". These prisoners,who in 1II0S1 cases entered the prison sys·lem mentally sound, now face releaseinto society unstable and forever scarred.

Endnotes

II) ,\!l(Uftl 1/troId ~x~ Wing. B) Mel Laugh·hruMl:UTl1 IImld SulfWnla. Sund3} edillon. May30.1999

(2) World &oi £llC)d,¥dJll. Vol 16. piliPIlSOftSoflhc: 1100's.

(J) Ps)'d,oIogul PfI)'S prlt't to Slop apm·~1/1.S, ~ Karen Dom Steele. The .5:poI:ww R,..'_.WI, June 19, 1994, pAS.

(4) -1ht T",,,,,., CUl';!. • P2S. Prison LcplNell'$.Aprlll999

(S) ~K",d al'ld Unusual PunlJhml'nl. H p 130,qllOhngllennelt's book. IChose Pilson (1970)

(6) CrjmlnallnjuJIIc.-: Confronmrg llie PrlJonCrUu. f:d Elihu Rosrnbl.ll. South End I'ress, Bos­Ion 1996, p.SJ.

(7) Ibid, pJ2S.•

FAMILIES, FRIENDS, ANDLOVED ONES OF FLORIDAPRISONERS NEED TO CON­

TACT STATE LEGISLATORSMORE OFTEN

According to a survey of state legis·lative assistants conducted by the FloridaHouse Corrections Committee recently,prisoners' family members only contactindividual state legislators an average of2.21 times a month. Such contacts onlyamount 10 6 percent of the total contactsfrom the public thnt legislalors receiveeach monlh. Of that small number ofcontacts from prisoners' family mem-

hers, 60 percent concerned transfer re·quests, 12 percent concerned medical prob­lems, 9 percent concerned general prob­lems, 9 percent concerned safety of pris­dner problems. J percent concerned visilingproblems, and only J percent concernedcrisis situations.

Legislators make the laws that the De·panment of Corrections must follow, Theyalso influence a lot of the policies adoptedby the depanment. Unless legislators hearfrom prisoners' family members, friends,and loved ones on what the problems are inthe system, the only voice they hear is thedepartment ·s.

Many legislalors are sympathelic togenuine Ilnd valid compillinls, especiallyfrom taxpayers and constituents. Many leg­islators complain that since prisoners' fam·ily members seldom conlnct them they donol know the problems thai they experi­ence and have nOlhing to point to that aproblem exists to justify legislation to cor­rect same.

The FPLP staff urges prisoners and theirfamilies to contact lawmakers more often.They are there to help, they have a respon­sibility to assist all citizens in dealing withother branches of Florida govemment onlegitimate problems.

Family members, friends, and lovedones may obtain their area legislator'sphone numbers in their local phone books(Usually in the from "Blue" section), orwrile to legislators at the following ad·dresses:

Honorablc (Scl/Clfor)Setl(Jfc Office BIII/(ling

Tallahassee. Florida 32399·1100

or

Honorable (Representative)House Office BUilding

Tallahassee. Florida 32399.

FCC MANDATES RATEDISCLOSURE ON PRISON

TELEPHONES

Effective October I, 1999, the FederalCommunications Commission (FCC) hasnew regulations going into effect requiringthe disclosure of the rates that conSjJmerswill actually pay for accepting collectphone calls from prisoners. These newregulalions, codified aI 47 C,F.R. sec.

67.710, "Operator Services for PrisonInmale Phones," provides that prisontelephone service providers for oul ofstale calls shall identify to consumersbefore accepting such call how they mayobtain rate quotations for Ihe call by dial·ing no more than two digits or by re­maining on the line for a recorded meS·sage on same.

The regulations also require suchservice providers to inform the consumer(those who receive calls from prisonersin another state) how complaints may beliIed concerning such rates, charges orcollection practices.

After October I, 1999, if prisonphone providers Ilre nol disclosing thisinformalion in phone calls, prisoners andthose who accept such calls should com­plain to the FCC, pri~on officials, and thephone service providers alike. fCC com­plaints should be sent 10:

FCCCommoll Carrier Bureau

Enforcement DivisionCOlISlimer Complaints, Stop 1600 AZ

Washington DC 20554(Soum:- Prison L..cp1 NC\\"$, 1lI99) •

(CD#ltur~dD#lpagr 11)

PRISON LEGAL NEWS"Pemaps the most detailed journal deseribit'BIhe de\'e!opmenl of prisoo law is Prison Leg,idNews." - Mnrti Hiken, Direclor Prison LawProjecl of the National Lawyers Guild.

PLN is 11_24 page. monthly magnz.ine,published since 1990. edited by WashinglonSlale prisoners Paul Wrighl and Dan Pens. Eachissut is packed...with summaries and analysis ofrecenl court rulings dealing wilh prison riQhts,written from a prisoner pcrspeeti\'e. Alsoincluded in each issue are ne....'S ankles dealingwith prison.r'C:lat-Wlrnggle and aClhism fromthe U.S. llrld around the world.

Annual subsaiptioo rates llrC SJ.5 forprnoners. If)'011 cllIl'tllfford 10 send SI.5 at onecosend Ilt least S7.50 lUJd we ....il/ pro--rale )"OUl

subscription al SI.2.5 per issue. Please send noless than S7.50 per donation. New (Unused) U.s.po5lage Slamps may be used as payment.

For non·ineat'Cml1ed individuah, thesubscription nuc- is SlS/)T. Institutionalsubscriplions (for allorneys, Iibtaries,government agencies. non·governmentalorganizations. etc.) are S6OI}T. Sample copiesare available for SI. ConlaCt:

• Prison Legll NewsPMB 148

2400 NW 80th StreetSeatlle WA 981 17

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 8

NOTABLE CASESby Sherri JohnsDn ..,BrIM NIonis

Voluntary IntoxicationDefense Comes to an End

Criminal defendanlS wnvicted of specificintelll crimes commined on Of after Cktobc:r I,/999, may find it difficult, if not impossible, 10present evidence in support of lilly voluntaryintoxication defense. In olher words, the FloridaLegislature has announced thlll, clTecli\'c-ck1Oba I. 1999M

:

Voluntary ("/luica/ion rrsuliing lrOl1l the con­sump/jot!, Injcelion, or olMr use of alcohol orolMr cOlI/roiled .rubs/on« tU dtscrl~d in chap­ler 89J. FlorIda Sialutes, Is nm a defense fO anyojJC1IJC proscribed by law. I::videnre oj (J defen­dant's \'olunlary Inun/cotlon is not admiJSlb/e 10!haw lool/k dcJendant klf:hd lhe specific intent/a commif an offe~ and is nol adm/u/ble 1ashow that 1m defendant wos Insa~ 01 lhe lime QIthe oJJe~. aupl ",hen 1M consumption. injec­I/On, ur use ofa con/rolled subs/onre IInder cJwp­{er 893, Florltin Slatllles, 11'aJ' pursllam IfJ a law­ful prescription issued (a thc tkfimdall/ b)' aproctltloner aJ' t/eflned in s, 893.01, Florida Stat­Illes, S«Ch. 9P-1N. § /, ot687, LawsofFla,

Sex Offender PublicilyUndercuts Voluntary Plea

On June 13, 1991, Broce BriM Wiita en­tered negotiated guilty pleas to ooe count oflewdII$$!IJlt and one coun! of ~ua! activity with II.

child. (}.'er six years later, Wiita presented asuccessful claim that the voluntary character ofhis guilty pleas ""'tre seriously undercut by theretroactive reponing requirements of section943,0-135, Florida Statules, Scctlon 943,0435, F,S, enacted October I, 1997, ~requires personsconvieted ofsexual offenses to repon to the Flor­ida Department of Law EnforttlTlent (FDLE),~

Shortly after Wlitll's complillrice with the Statutesreponing rcqulremenlS, similar to what theFDOC docs with all felony offenders in ilS cus­tody. the FOLE "posted his ~me and photographon the Internet as a sexual offender,~

Wiita mO\'ed for pGStcon\'ictlon reliefclaiming Ihat "because s«tioo 943,(10135 WllS nO(In effcct at the time he entered his plea .:Igrtt­ment, LIle reporting and publication requirementsof the stlllute were neither contemplated normade a part of his plea agreement." A hearingwas conducted wheteupon Wiita testified that heentered the plea to protect IUs wife "from thepublicity and strtu lI5SOCiarcd wilh a 1Iial:' Wiil.il.claimed LIlat he woold not ha\'e waived his righlto Ilia! had lIe known that "his name and photo­graph would be posted on the Internet, that hischildren's school would ha\'e to be notified thathe was a sexual offender, or that his name wouldbe published as a sexual offender in a local news­paper," Findmg Wiita's plea was not enteled wilhan undcnlllnding oflhe consequences of the plea,tile Hrmorable Harold J. Cohen, Judge of theFifteenth Judicial Circuit Coort in Palm Beach

County, Floridll, granted Wiita's motion, The Stateappealed,

On appeal, the State argued thllt Wiita shouldnot be al1o""'td to withdmll his plea because "hefailed to show that a manifest injlJ.'itice occurred,Additionally, pointing to numerous cases to supponits position, the State argued LIlat Judge Cohenabused his discretion hy gllInting Wi ita's post con­viction molion "because the fCJl'Oning requirc:memsof section 943,0435 should be considered coll::tterulin nlUure." The Founh OCA found thllt the numer­ous C4$CS cited by the State ~do not specificallyaddress ""hemer a defendMI'S guilty plea was en­tered knowingly and voluntlUily when a law eon­tllining reporting/registration requirements is subse­qucntly enacted and applicd rettoacti\'c1y," Moreimportlllltly, the DCA found that "(al manifest in­juslice occurred in this case because Wiiln ga\'C uphis tight to a jury !tial to avoid publicity and s!tt'SS,yet \\'11. subjceted to the pUblicity and StiesS hewanled to B\'oid by a stalUle enacted six )'ears allerthe plea agreement Il'lIS enlered into:' Sec:~YllilB. - So,2d -, 24 FLW 01523 (Fla, 4th OCA,6-30-99),fCommtnt: According to thc FDOC Annual Rc­pom on Inmote Adnr/nions: 1,0188 scxual olJend­en In 1995--96 ond onother I, 31 scxlIQI olJcnd­ttT In 1997-98 ",'Ut admJfttd to thc FDOC'tcus/od)', Based solcl)' on thtsc stQhtt;C$, it 0ppcQrrSQfc to asmmc thQt Q hugc Ill/mbtr of hOSt!, QmlnllmerOltS ofher, scxl/ol offtndt!n committcd rhcirolJensu Ilntl t!nlt!ud pitas prior to October I,1997, thc clfertil'c dOlc ofstetlQn 9.f3,0435, F.S.Llkc "'Wo, II lorre number of Ihosc olJtndtrrprohubl)' cntered guilty or 110 conlest pIcas crrone­ously belJ~'ing il ""o/lld be Ihc lIesl way to qllictlybmlh the fQcts of thclr cast{$) IIndu fhc cotpct,tht but Ii'oy to kup a low profile, Ihe but way /0

Ql'oid 0 101 of embatrastlng publicit)" Also IIkt!Wi/til, )'011 con bet thllt tht retroacril'c uporringlrcgistration rcquiuttlenrt ofsution 943,04J5 slIrcwasn'l contemplated whtn thclr picas !>'crt! cn·Itrcd. Slgnijlcanll)', Octobtr I, 1999, 1i'1II bt rwo),can slncc !Cction 9/3.0./35 was enocwl. In olherworlls, t!IJI!. October I , 1999, Ih.. two ycur limita­tion rtqllluml'nt of Fla.N.Crim.P. 3,850 mil}' bllrrelicfan clalfIU similllr 10 Wiita's.----bmJ,

Guiding "IF" Analysis

This case began Ilhen thc county court inHighlands Counly sentenced James Kerklin on lwomisdemeanor counts to consecutive one yellt countyjail terms, "Ketktin absconded six month Intel, andthe pollee arrested him 01\ an unrelated fdonycharge in Mlltcn 1998 ~ The coonty coun orderedKefklin to complete lhe bal:mcc of his county jailmisdemeanor sentences, The circuit coun Imposedalhiny-thrte month Slllie prison tcm on the unre­lated felony charge Not surprisingly, without al·lowing him to finish the service of his county jailsentences, KerkHn was lI1lIISfelTed O\'C! to FDOCcustody, The problem arOSC' when, wllh intent toeventually bring Ken:lin back 10 complete the ser­vice of his county jail sentences, the HighllLlldSCount)' Sheriff lodged a detainer ogainst hinl at the

moc.While incarcet1lted III Avon Park Cometional

Instilution, Kcrklin requested the Second DCA toissue a wril of hnbeas corpus dlrccting the Sheriff otHighlands County to relt:ISC him from the dellliner Inhis petition, citing "lhe gencraJ prinCIple thut pflson­ers havc a right to serve their sentences m one con­tinuous welch:' Kerklin argued that the Sheriff hat.no Inwful uUlhority 10 transfer him b~k to lhe count}jail. The Second DCA, finding thaI il was "withouljurisdietion~ ov.tr the matter and "that the coon hcstsuited to address Kefklin's petition is the trial COUlt inthe Tenth Judicial Circ:uit, which is where Avon PlilkCOlTeetional Institution is located:' denied Kerkhn',habell.S petition, Ho\\'t\'er, appnrcntl)' agreeing t('some C)llcm with Kerklin's position, lhe denial 1"15

"without prejUdice for KerkHn to reme the petition inthe Tenth Judicial CifCllit." Significanlly. rothet thanthe normal denil1 without ptejudice, the Second DCAdid emet a \\TiUen opinioo 10 provide lhe Tenth Judi­cial Circuit Coun "some guidance":

if KuHin filcs a PftitlO'1 for Mbcas corpus mIhe tril1l C01"I, rtliJing Ihese some is.rJ<eJ, lire malcourt InuSI firJt es{abluh whethcr KuJ:lm:r ollega·tlons are supported by 1M stnti.'ncmg documefl/s, 1/Kerklin's al/egotlons are lTl/e, IMn lhe IrIol COllrtshauld rt'\'lew lhe circuit caurt '5 thirty-three monthDOC Jefl/Bnt%, 1/ tM circuit COllrr ordered IMf 1MDOC sefllence 11m concurrenlly wllh tilt' emlt/f)' lOllJe/1/i.'nce, II \I'(1II1d (;Ippear Ihat Ihe deralner lodgrd bylire Sherif/should be qrmshcd,

1/ tile jrldgmenl and senlma d~s nat refltCIIMI the cifelllt COUri ordered 0 concurrent srnlenCl',1 15 clear thot It 1l'aJ' error 10 lransftr Kerklm to II,..DOC la sen... /,is Ihlrty-three monlh !XX si.'nli'flCt!See Segol v, Wainwright, 30.( So,ld -N6 (FIQ,197-1).,Under Segal, 1IIl'0u/d appear thm tI IriQI caurl orderdirecting Ihe DOC to immcdlole/y reltase Kerldln roHighloflds COlml)' to senY! lire COltnl)' joil stntellt:t!wOllld Joll'e 1M i.'rror of pitctmtol service of thatUfl/ence,.,

Segall1ppeors 10 prol'/de lhe trial collrt alllho"1)' torcmedy lire piecemeal Jervlce of KerkU" '5 coun/)' jtlllsenlence by ordering hlJ Immedime reilim to coullryjail. HOWel'er, on ImmediQle transfer would creOle aplcctmeol Jervit:t af the DOC senltncc because th..DOC is lI'ithOllI aulhority to credit Kerklin:r COUllt)'jail SCflltnct with filllt! urwd m the DOC. Arcord­Ing/y, "''t' would d,rect Illc trial couri 10 ",'I~ Stott'cx rei, Ubi: \1', Colcmlln, 119 Flo. 18, 5 So,1d 60(1941).

In Coleman, a defendant who did not Jed orCOlUCnf 10 releast from a six-monlh cOlin/)' joi/un.tenl;tl: lI'tlS ""toud after f"'Y! do)'s mjDII, Ste 5 So.1dat 61, IYhen an otfCmpl Il'llJ mode to rtinsltlte theSCnlcm:e six monlhs loter, Iht' prls01U!r filed tI petitionfor habeas corpus 1I'lth lhe Florida Supreme Court,SCi.' Id, Thc wp",me court concluded tMI, wilhOllllhedefendanl's comell/, lhe StoiC could '101 slay lhe Tl/II·

IIIIIg of a jail 5i!ntenct Ina' had begun, Su Ii Sua/JO POll/tntr l', Stalt. 706 So,ld 948, 901911,1 (Fin.ld DCA 1998) (lloling /hat ifQdefmdtl/lJ:r COWl/)' jQ11SCIIlcnct Mdup/"'d after he 1tW mlslolrtnfy ",leasedfrom jol/, lhe court mould not order him /0 be re·turned 10 (he caun/)' jail, bUI should dlrrct him to

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 9

sl'n'/! 1M rtmainlng ponioll of his commlmltycon/rolomi proballon).

Similarly. if Ktrklln did 001 COIlNII/ 10 his~/Ilo,ul from Ihe COlin/)' Jail 10 Iht DOC. 1/ ....ouldUPfNur /hal 1M SltlIC cOlild nOI SIU)' 1M running 01Irls coun/)'jall Jent<!ncr:. II wOlllJlollow Ihol KtrklinIS tnlilltd 10 Im't 1111 cOllnty juil sen/MCC nul con­Cllrll'l1lly with Ihe DOC .Iell/encr An order 10 Ilmlefful "'Ollltt Cliso uquil'l! quushing of lite S"~riffs

derOlller III Ihl.l C(I.le, ,(1IC1WlIlg Kerklm 10 .len... IheCOlIn/)' jull .lenience COM'urrt'1l/1y wllh Ihe DOCsen/enn M'ould remedy Illt pieCl!meul stn'lce of /htcOlIn/)' jail .Itn/tnct ....,lhoUI rrqulrmg plCctllltalUrI'lct aflilt DOC .Il!n/ence.

Ul1imalely, the Second DCA's guiding ~ir'

analysis indireClly cslnbJishcs that if KelkHn limplyreflies his habeas pelilion in the Tenth Judicial Cir·euil Coon, 'the delainer lodged by Ihe HighlandsCOWlty Sheliff should be quashed. Sec: Kerklin ".Codw,n, - So2d -, 24 FLW 01726 (FIll. 2dOCA,7·21-99)

Third DCA Rules thaI1997 Amendmen1510 I'urole

Sfalufe.llhaf Provides for

EXlension of Parole Hearings,Not Ex POSI FllClo Violation

Florida prisomr Helben L. Tuff broughl II

cltallenge againsl lite 1997 llmend,nent 10 sec.9~7 174, Fla Slal, \Ihieh nltered 'hc frcqucncy ofsubsequ~nl parolc hearings for cerlam prisonersfrom every twO )ellrS 10 every five )'elllS. Ilerbenclaimed thal the amendmenl was retrOlIelivel)' IIp­plied to hIm Ihus a \'iolalion of the EJc I'OSI FacioClause of Ihe U ,\, Constilution. The Third DCAheld l! Ithe arnendmcn1 wn.~ nOI violnlive oflhe ExPOSI Fa 'n Clause, and e\fen more significantly, lhatIhe SUUUle ~has in place" !he (due processl safe·guards mlllld~led b)' Ihe U.S. Supreme Coun inCalifOntlu DtparfmMI of Corrections v, Moroles,51-1 U.S -199. I I 5 S CL 1597, I] I L.Ed.2d 588(1995).

In 1970, Tuff pled guihy to first-degree mur·der lllId received :l life sentence, In 1979 he WIlSparoled, bUI in 1987 violaled thaI parole and wasrccommilled to prison He was ini1blly SCI :l ple­sumpti\'e parole release dlle (PPRD) of August 3D,1992. bul after sc\'eral in·pri5Ol1 disciplinlll}' infrtle­liOns thaI \l'llS lalel chllllged to Decembel 30, 1997.Before that dale, during OctObel of 1997. the plllolecommission in1ervi~\\'cd Tuff and decided not 10parole him. Based 011 the nell' amendments to sec,9-17.17-1, Fla. SUll.. thlll had juSt been enacled andbecame effeetil'e on June I, 1997, lhe parole com­mission further decided 10 sel Tuffs nexl parolehellJing 01T fOf Iil'e )'caIS rtllher lhan the formellyrel\uired 111'0 )'ellrS, and nOt relnlerview him untilAugusI2002.

Tuff filed 1\ Motion ror POSI Convielion Reliefpursuant to Rule 3.850 seeking 10 challenge IhelI.pplielllilll1 of see. 947.IH, Fla. StlU,. 10 him in hissilullliOll. The elfeuit coun denied the motton andTuff appealed The appeal eoun determined first offIhM Tuff could not mise his claim in a Rule 3,850mOlion as such would be lime blUl'Cd by the 111'0rear filing limil, nor could it be mised in a Rule3,800 mOl ion lIS it is nOI a ch311enge to IlI\ illegalsentmcc. Therefore. lhe appeal COlIn delerminedIhl il would lrelll the lIppeal as one liom 1\ pelitionfOl ~'fll ofmlUldamus-

Noting Ihal the issue presenled llppclllS 10 beone or firsl Impression in Floridll, tile appeal court

then proceeded to dissecllhe Flolida StalUle, sel OUIwho it applies 10 lind in I\hal eircumslltnces, andeompllJe illIT\e 10 Ihe holding in Morales, .....hich hadfQ.und lhnl a California stlllule also providing fOIexlended parole hell.lings .....as nOI an Ex Post Factoviolalion. The appeal coun found thl1l the FloridaS,atule is "nllffOwly conslrucled,~ as in Morales. inlhal: 1) it effeelS Ihe timing only of subsequent (nolinitinl) parole henrings, 2) it requires a hearing onIhe maller, 3) il applies only when the parole com­mission finds Ihal "it is notleasonable 10 expecllhlllparole will be gtIIlIled lU a hClU"ing during the follow·ing (fi\'eJ )'eIlrS,~ and 4) it requires the commission10 Slllle the basis ofil$ decision in writing.

The coun found thnl the situalion in Tuffscase and lhat in Morules was simill1t enough lhal acomparison could be drllwn bel....'een th~ cases. Ex·amining the wrinen repon that the Floridn ParoleCommission provided 10 Tuff, which listed the rea­sons fOI sctting him off fllr five )'elllS, the counfound Ihatthe Florida Parole Commission had com­plied wilh Ihe procedurul saregualds in the new stal·ule - and lIS approvcd in Morales,

The courl wen! on 10 distinguish Tuffs CllSCfrom lhe recenl decision of the 11th Circuil Coun ofAppeals in J01Il.l v. Gamt', 164 F,3d 589 (11th Cir.1999) (Thai ease was reponed on in FPLP, Vol. 5,Iss,2, Notable Cases). The court noted thaI where IheGeorgia role al issue in IheJl/lles case did nol pro­\fide the required Morales mandated proeedurnlsafeguards, Ihe Florida sllllUte docs. Thus, Ihe appealcourt AFFIRMED the circllil eOllrt's denial ofTuffsclaims.

See: TlIjJ". 51ale, __ So.2d -' 24 FLWD1204 (Flo, Jrd DCA 5/19199).

Firsl DCA Reaffirms

Habeas Corpus Correct Remedy

10 Challenge CM Confinement

While Holding Mandamus Correcl

For Related ISSUC5

On May 27, 1999, the 151 DCA held Ihallhe2nd Judicial Cirellil Coun erred in dismissing:l Flor­ida prisoner's habcllS co'Pus challenge 10 his COnlin'ued confinement in Close Mnnagement. PlisonerAdolphus Ashley filed a Pelition for Wril of HabeasCO'PliS in the circuit court COIIlesling his pllllX'menlin IUId relenlion on Close MlUlagemenl status, TheCirtuit court round thl1l he should have filed a Peli­lion for Writ of Mnndamus nnd denied his petilionWilhoul prejUdice to lhe filing of a peli'ion for wrilof mandamus. Ashley appealed, and the appeal COUrlQUASHED the 10"'el court's denial and RE·MANDED the ease bllCk III the circuit court, with aIinding lhal Ashley cO\lld challenge his relention oneM with a Pel ilion for Writ of Habeas Corpus citingTaylor \', Purln, 654 So 2d 1019 (Fla. lSI DCA1995) in suppon. BUllhe DCA held IhallO Ihe ex­11:l1l thaI some of the is5Ues Ashley rtlised mightmore approprillldy have been raised in a mandamuspelition, the cireuit coun should ha"e lrealed !hoseissues 11$ ifAshley WII5 s«king mandamus relief.

See:Aslrley v. Moore, __ So.2d , 24 FLW01263 (Fla. lst DCA 1999).

(Commenl Thll ~a.. d~ nolhlnl b~t add ~"'nf~llon 10.. hall. Ihe proper rTrnedy 10 .erk 10 chlUenlt .~Ilonl ofrM n>oc, Ir Ippe.n dtar Ibal Alhlt)' ..... ch.llntlolhll nlnlinaed plaermUI 00 CM, ..·hlch was prohlblyImpc>Hll hued on • prior diKlplinary .er;oo. AJhltyappan-nlly .... chlll~nll"l hOlh thf CM pllerm.nl .nd

lhe diKlpllnu,. .~llon II Ihe lame IIt1\t, .1 MOIlId IHonrcautl')' 10 bt 'lIe~adulon lht CM ch.UOOIe. Withutlh. dUdpllnl1')' .Clloo beinl ovu111med Ihe buls forplaermtnl on CM n"1ll.1ns. Now Iht In DCA has ...1dlhu h.bea. corpu is th. <1Irr«1 rtmtdy 10 ehaQralelhe CM ,11101100, b\lllhn Illndlm~. IIll1n lbt ......tdy10 ehalleol' lhe olher iuurs, e.l-. the dl,cipllna.,. ullo..;UIIOS (~nul ea.. n"portrd on 10 NOTAOLE CASES,Ihls lout' Wo~lI..d Y. Bi,hop). So, prl,onen ...ould be1.(1 ..1Ih hnlnl 10 file , hybrid pelhlo~ hl!>e•• eorpll'10 ehlllf~le lhe C~t ",ptd, .nd mlnd.mu. 10 ch.llenl'Ibt diK;plln.1')' a.ptd Tht trick It, Ihtre Is no (iliol rnfor fillnllhe h.be.. petilloo (..·to Ihollih CmtllUy thtCM .ollid nOI ",n'e 10 Ieallhtll Ih. priloner's erimhulItllrel>er), h~1 Ih'n" Is for Ibe "'...'h ' pelitiOO (..'toIhoUlh the dl,eipllul')' aenoo lIuly ulltd 10 1.10lime forltlilln, lUulrlol;o I lenlrh.olnl or Ihe criml­nil "'nltnce). Then" ,hould IHo one "'I.blbhed n-I\ltdy10 ch.llule III q~..IJudicill arlion. lIb. hy Ih. nocIpi...1 pmonen, and u Ihty 1.ltill. 1M action(diKiplina'1' nport CM pllCtlllenl, tte.) Ibtl 1M ptll­lion 10 Ihe drcul1 eOllel shollid IHo for .tnlonn ....·i...(See: Shit)' Y, f1a. Parale CO"""., 71ll So.Zd U01,nos,n. 1 (fl•. hI DCA 1997)1 (..-ilhoul any fiIlol rre ",Iubedir I liberty (nluesl Or Itnllbtnlnl Ollh. enmi 1 un·len~e Is (n ...I'·ed), and wllh d.ni.1 or urn. r...I l>lt bya P.lillon for Wril of lIabe.. Corp~. dlrrelly to lheIrd.nl tOllrt.. £d.... rds Y. U.lilol!, 117 S.C!. 158~

(1997). Olhe""'lu Ihen ..m<Oftfln~e 10 IHo nol!>inl hilinlnfwlon Oil ..hOI II lbe nlbl n-ml'dy 10 lerk, nOI onlyI..onl pmon.n, hilt lbe courlO al" II Ihls rue acaloIlIwlrllewll

Firsl DCA Reaffirms thaiPelilion for Writ of Mandamus is

Appropriate Remedy 10 Seek

Judicial Review of "'DOC

Disciplinary Proceedings

Floridn plisoner Dexter WOIIllard filcd a Peti­lion for W,il of HlIbeas Corpus challenging IheOUlcome of 1",0 disciplinlll}' proceedings. The cir·cllil coun summl1tily denied relief(withoul issuing ashow cause ordel) by finding thllt Woullll.ld "failed10 demOllSlrtlleR exhaustion of available admini51t1l·live remedies. Woullard lI.ppealed 10 the Firsl DCA,which QUASHED the eircuil coun's denial MdREMANDED the ClISe back ror fllnher proceedings.

Firsllhe DCA nOled Ihllt a Pelition for Writ ofHabeas C0'Pus IS NOT the applopriale lemedy 10use 10 challenge prison disciplinary proceedingsalleging violalions of COnstitulional requircmmts orroles of the FDOC. The DCA reaffirmed thllt a Peti­lion for Wril of MMdarnus is more properly Iheappropliale remedy in sllch cases, ciling Newsome v,Singletary, 637 So.2d 9 (FLa. 2d DCA 1994). andAdams v. Walnwrlghl, 512 SO.2d 1077 (Fla. lsIDCA 1987),

Nexl, the DCA delennined that the allegationsin WOlllll1td's pelition (thaI he Iuld exhausled ad­miniSll'1llive remedies) ~wcre sufficient 10 make litle8$1 a prima foci. showing of exhaustion" (andIhus, the cireuil coon shoold have issued a showcause Older to the FIX>C).

Sec: If'oullard v, Bishop. elal" So.2d-' 24FLW D1315(a) (Fla. lSi OCA 6IlJ99).

IComm~nr This decISion ~ualCl lhe CfI....

thaI mandamUI i, lhe aP1'«'Priare r~m~dy fa acek rel'i...... ofall~ged COllSlillllionol Of fUl~ violaliono in FDOC discipli­nary proI'.tIlinp, In Sheley Y, Fl., parote Commiuion, 70JSo.2d 1202, II 120S n. Z, rbe Ilf DCA tIOIcd WI cCfliorariwould be the mor~ appropriIre mncdy JllKe tuCh IS s.od:.in. jlld,~ial leview of qlWl·juc!;dll acI;OllII lurn by alo"C1 qlW;,jud1c,.' a6minilllllwe U1bUll&l, I "l"ce, TbepurpClSe of mandamul is 10 compel lhe pcrformarx:e of.

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 10

ICollect calls accepted after retainedl

We Help InReprescntlliion of Felony and Misdemeanor Defenses • Trial Prepnrntion • State and

Fedcr.!1 Post Conviction

The hiring of alaw)'er is an importIDlt decision thai should not be based solely upon ad,'crtise­menls. Before you decide, ask us 10 send you free wrinen infonnation oboUI our qualifealions

and expericnce.

THE CRIME CENTER1236 SouthellJt 4th AvenueFori Lauderdllle, FL 33316Telephone: (954) 463-9700

Fax (954) 463-4230

not an ex pasl flltto law because it neither merea.sedCassady·s punishment nor denied him a \'csted nghl(Ihe OCA nored, howC'o'ef, m its decision that Cas·sady had not raised the question of .....hether he h3d a\'csted right in visiting his children in the: trialcourt). And the uial court held that the sllttUte didnot amounl 10 I bill of anamdel .....here Cassady'sgUIlt \\'IlS ~nol legislali"el)' detenninedM nor is hissenlence affecred by the visiwion rcstriClion,

The First DCA upheld eaeh of the uial court'Sfindings on appeal. Specifically, the DCA held IhalCllSsady had not met the burden of demonsttatinglhat lhc lIial court commitled a clear errOf whichresulled in prejudice to him, The DCA AFFIRMEDIhe trial court's summary judgment and declD.rtltionagainst Cassady,

See: CtUSDdy v. M~, __ So.2d -' 24FLW DI601 (Fla. 1st OCA 7n199)

Trial Court Deparled From usentiltl Rt­

quiremenu of Law by Not Allowing

Prisoner 10 File Reply to Pit role

Commission Response

The First DCA held, on eertiOf'lll'i revIeW, thaithe trial coun had depatted from the essmlial reoquirements of law by den)'ing prisoner VonshetAdams' Peliriofl for Writ of Habeas Corpus WIthoutgiving Adams an opportunity 10 file a re"ly to theParole Commission's response to the habeas peti·rion. The DCA relied on Jones v. Singlelary, 709So,2d 656 (FIn. 1st DCA 1998), and Bard v. Wol·son, 687 SO.2d 254 (Fla, lSi DCA 1996), to supporttltat finding.

See: Adams v. Fla. Parole Commi.lJlon,5o.2d-,24 FLW Dl596 (Aa. lSI OCA m,w),.

IC~"llltat: Maa)' prUolI~n fttl tbu Ihe,~.~ ~halJta~ 1IIIIItt "as aa u'u~nted rr1pollSC toa la,,~l)' 1I0llui"elll problem ud was ellaC1t'd .s add..tioll,l pllllisbmtnl nis "ifw is ItlpportK by Ibt bellblt tbtrt ,,'s nl)' ~H reponed Kltllllllolnution.r I

tbild ;n I prilOIl ",ilinc am ill 1997, ud tbr 'C1'1IwdprUolIU ..·.s 1I0t , w, orrtDder. FPLP b,d Iftm'edlnronollio.. lhll in tm, bo..e-o-e., Ib,lI , COrtftri"III'ofrictr .'11 arCllm 011(111111)' Illolnlinl a tMld .illto•.Thol incident, ho..·ne', .'1 quitkly co"ertel "I" IIIdnr"u rnehnl the public's onention, and lbr .bo.'e thtSilled Illlllie IlIh.tqllenlly '"Uested by lhe fUOC Illdadopred into IIw as port MIhll eo'·rr-llp. IT .'ould beInler",rins: to see ho ... , eourltrtlltd I dllm Ihlllllcb.'i,llOtion prohibition wilh one's Own children amOllll1110 I de f.tln lerminUion olpa..,nt.l ris:b"'sjl

Statule Restricting ViJitation

With Minors Not UnconJtitution:l1

requIred to file state 1e,·e!Judlcia.l challenges to diSCI'plinary proceedings WIthin 30 da)'S of rcndilion ofthe final administra1i\'e appeal. The record in Ortez'scase showed that the final admimslBlin appeal wasfiled Within thai period

On the refusal to produce the requesled evi·dence issue, the DCA dire<:lcd the lower coun on'remand to consider the merIts of Ortez's subslllnli"eclaims in light of Osttrbcuk v, Smgltlary, 679 SO.2d43 (Fla. lsI DCA 1996) (absenl valid reasons to re­fuse request for production of evidence, and in lightof prisoner's defense based on questioning such evi·dence, duc process is violated by refusal [0 producc.)

See: Orlt: \', Moore, So.2d __' 24FLW DI497 Fla. 1st DCA 6112199).

The Firsl DiMCl Court of Appeals has re·jected II constilulional challenge 10 Seclion 944,09(1)(n). Aa. Sllll, as amended In 1996,10 provide thatpnsoners convicted of terlalll $C.'(ua.l offenses orabuse against, or in the presence of, a child undet 16)eln old are prohibIted from visillltion in prison "ithanyone under 18 rears old, unless special visillllion isapproved by the superintendent oflhe prison,

Prisoner Tell}' CllSsady hroughl thc challengein an aClion fOf dcclaratory jUdgment, asking Ihccourt to dcclarc lhc stalute as denying due process,lhat it is a bill Ofallainder, llnd an ex post facto law,The trial court determined that since Cassady hlldexpressed doubt ....helher he hIlS a conslirutionnl rfght10 vislllltion and .\helher the starulC violated suchpossible right, that Cassady \\'IlS entitled to dcelara·101} relief pursuant to Chapter 86, Aa. Slal. but thaIthe Jlltute was not unconsUlutionai as applied toCI$5lWJ)

The tna! ooutt determmed that there is no abosolule constitutional nght 10 visiwion \\hile inpnson, thaI visitation privileges may be reJuictedpro,'ided such meets legitImate penological objec·til'cs (Cites omilled) llH: trial found that the chal­lenged stlltule serves such objectives by protectingminor children from convicted sex offenders llndhelping ro ensurc lhe rehabilitation of those offend­ers, The court also found lhe Slatute narrowly lailoredto meet those objectives "here the superintendentmay mllke exceptions to the visitalion prohibition.

The lIial COIIrt also found that the statute was

"Date Filed" Stnmp on

FDOC AdministrAtive Appeals

Establishes Start or Time

To Seek Judicial Review

Prisoner Granled Mandamus ReliefTo Compel Circuit Courlto Move

On Mandamus Pelilion SeekingReview of Disciplinary Proceedings

PrIsoner Robert Ortez filed a Petition for Writof Mandamus in the eireuit court $«ting rrview ofpnson disciphnary proccedmgs lie had b«n foundgUIlty ofpossession ofmariJlI3rta and ....'IlS sentencedto loss of gam time and COflfinemenl Ortez allegedin his petillon thal the dlSCiphnary learn refused hisrequest to produce the alleged marijuana or [cstresults of same at the heanng [thus denying his es·tablished due process rightsl, and th:u he had ex·hausltd his administrative appeals 110 the best of hisabIlity)

The circuit court denied the perition as un·timely filed, nnd added lhnllhe exhibits auaehcd tothe pelition showed Ihal Onez received all lhe proc·ess to \l'hich he was due. Onn Ihen filed a Petitionfor Ceniorari Review to the First DCA, whichpanted leview, QUASI lED lhe cilCuit court's de­nIal, and REMANDED the case blltk for funberprocttdmgs.

Putsuanr 10 Aa. Statute 96.1 1(8), and Rules ofAppdlate Procedure Rule 9.IOO(c) (4), prisoners llfC

mlnlSlcrul dilly, $lriclly. Unlcu llw minwcnlIl dUly basbeen aublL$bal., wa lecNlleally IIWllbmvs ..ould nol heVI caalpl:l • duty Pnsonen eompelled 10 vse , Pelition forWtII of Mlndllmls 10 cbIllmrc dlSC.ph""Y pn:>cealinp.lepnllcss of Ibe IIlle of Ibe pelllIOIl, should pIepIle wlrpeDT"'''s If illS , Pdilloa for CutIOlar\ Re-oiew. 5«:

Flonda AppeDlle Ptaall:e, 2d Ed, Seaionl 219lbraup 2112, and Fonns 4611111 41 In same hook. FPLPsufl'1S ....we that~ Irisoners ate ICIUIlly filing, I'clI·11011 for Ccnl(nn Re-o,e-o'.- In lbe elrcull eOUf! in sllC:b cases.ThIS, If It eontlnl>CS, may e''Cnlnlly foroe the eouns 10

ICWl'llU and eSl,blub that umonn IS the eolTttt andIpp'opnale remedy·sj]

lCommellt Since Denson I'ould h,,'e been re·qull'flllo p.,. or incur I hold on his llecount forthe filing fees for not onl)' lhe firsl m,ndamusbut also ror Ihe one Ihll was filed in (he DCA, itis hoped lhal ht flied a mOlion for those feeswhen his pelition in Ih~ DCA \I''IIS granted. SeC' :Aoridl Jurisprudence 2d, 1II"l"OAMUS andPROIllOITIOllo"Seelion 19J·sjl

Owen IXnson, Jr., filed a Petition for Writ of ,.,Ian·darnus 10 the $a'enleenth JudIcial Circuit Counsee."ng review of prison d.selphnllr}' prllCe'c:dingsbact 10 No\'ember of 1998 After months of Ihecoun not moving on his petllion, Denson finallyfiled SlIOIher Petition for Writ of Mmdarnus to theFounb OCA aslting that coun to compel the ein:ulIcourt 10 mo,'e on the pending mandamus peririon.The OCA granted Denson's mandamus petitionaner the Circuit court did not respond to the DCA'sshow cause order on the petition filed in lhe DCA.The DCA directed lhc cireuit court to eilher issue ashow clluse order to lhe FDOC Of issue II final ordcron the mandamus petition filed in lhe circuit eounwilhm 30 days,DrtIlSOIl v, Prm/, et al., _ So.2d -' 24 DI480(FIll. 4th DCA 6.123199).

F,P.LP, VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 11

FDOC's New Regional Division

percent of prisoners incarcerated for vio­lent crimes suffer mental illneiS.

Mentally ill prisoners are muchmore likely to be found in Slate prisonsand local jails, where they account for J6percent of the overall populalion, com­pared 10 a 7 percent rate in federal pris­oners, according to the statistics gatheredto compile the report. And the report re­vealed that mentally ill prisoners, on av­erage, are incarcerated longer than otherprisoners.

This report was the Justice Depart­ment's first comprehensive attempt tocompile statistics on the number of men­tally ill persons who are being incarcer­aled in the United States. The report hadno past figures that it could be comparedwith to show whether there has been anincrease or decrease in lhe numbers frompast years. The report also did not ad­dress why mentally ill people end up be­hind bars or what impact they may behaving on the criminal justice system.

Critics of the report said thaI themethod used to compile the statislicsused in the report may have resulted inan understatement of the number of men­tally ill prisoners. Some law enforcementauthorities, mental health expens andcivil rights advocates have been warningfor years that jails and prisons are be­coming dumping grounds for the men­tally ill.

A copy of that report may be ob­tained by calling the BJS Clearinghouseat: 1-800-732·3277, or from the Webat: http://www.ojp.usdoj.govlbjs/.•

lConllnwdfrom PQ# 8}

NOTICE

The lasl issue of FPLP, Vol. 5,Iss. 4, had a loose leaf page inserted ineach copy with information concerningthe murder of Frank Valdes at FSP andthe pasSlige of a new law concerningfAmily visitation in Florida prisons. Thatnew law is codified at Chapter 99-271,Florida Session Laws, and creates Sec­tion 944.8031, Florida Statutes (1999).That new law mandates that: (I) shellersbe built outside every institution for visi­tors waiting before and after visits; (2)the visitors be provided information byIhe institution concerning regulations,dress codes, and visiting procedures; (3)that food choices in the visiting areasprovide nutritious food suitable for chil­dren and youlh visitors; and (4) thatminimal equipment and supplies be pro­vided by each inslilution in the visitingareas to assist in managing and occupy­ing children visilors.

Additionally, Section 945.215,Fla. Statutes, was also amended in thatsame session law to provide that InmaleWelfare Trusr Fund moni::s shall be usedto implement the provisions of the newvisiling statute and to provide "visitationand family programs and services" in allFlorida prisons.

FPLP staff asks Ihat its readerskeep us infomlcd of the implementation(or failure to implement) the new visita­tion statute at the institution where youvisit or are incarcerated. We are also in­terested in your thoughts or suggestionsfor realistic "family programs and ser­vices" that the FDOC needs to adopt, andwhat unifonnly minimal equipmentneeds to be placed in each visiling area toassist in keeping children occupied dur­in!! visits. Thanks! •

MENTALLY ILL PRISONERS

According to a report released by theU.S. Justice Department during July ofthis year, more than 15 percent of prison­ers in U.S. jails and prisons suffer fromsome form of mental illness. The study,which ....'as prepared by lhe Bureau 01Justice Statistics (BJS) for the JusticeDepartment., also found that almost 20

Greg Drake RegionalDirmorRepion I

Apalachee CI/AnnexCalhoun CUWCCentury CIGulrOIWC/FC/AnnexHolmes CUWC (2)Jackson CUWClefferson ClLiberty CI/WCOkaloosa CI/WCQuincyCIRh'cr Junction MHSanla Rosa CIWakulla CIWallon CI/WCWashinl!,1on Cl

George DenmanRegional Director

Re"ion IIBaker CIColumbil1CICross City CUWCFL Slate Prison WCGainesville CLlWCHamilton CLJWCLancaster CUWCLawtcy CIMadison CI/WCMayoCI/WCNew River/AnnexNFRC/AnnexPutnam ClTa)'lor CUWCUnion CI

U.S. PRISONS FILLED WITHNONVIOLENT OFFENDERS

Over one million nonviolent otTend­ers were incarcerated in the U.S. prisonsystem during 1998, according to a reportreleased earlier this year by the JusticePolicy Institute (JPI). That report, usingU.S. Justice Depanment data, and enti­tled "America's One Million NonviolentPrisoners," shows that over the past 20years lhe nonviolent prisoner rate hasgrown at a much faster rate than that forviolent offenders who are incarcerated.

In 1998, 77 percent of the peopleemering prisons and jails were incarcer­ated for nonviolenl offenses. Since 1978,the number of violent offenders enteringprison has doubled, compared to thenumber of nonviolent offenders havingtripled. And the number of people im­prisoned for drug crimes since 1978 hasincreased eight-fold.

The JPI report also notes the hugecosts to taxpayers for imprisoning lhemore than one million nonviolent offend­ers. Between federal, state and local gov­ernments, over $24 billion was spent dur­ing 1998 to incarc.erale nonviolent of­fenders. That amount was 50 percent lar­ger than the entire federal welfare budgetof$16.6 billion.

Interestingly, the report also madesome startling comparisons. The U.S.

(COIlllllutd 011 pagt / j)

Bill Bedingfield Martll VillaeortllRegional Director Regional Director

Reoion 111 Repion IVAvon ParI: CUWC !Broward CI~rcvard CIIWC Charione CIIWC~FRCJAnncxlSouth Uni Dade CI/Annex

lorida CIIFC (Levy)/BC PeSoIO CUWClAnnexHernando CI iE.\'erglades CI·Iillsborough CI lades CIIWC

!Lake CI laniee CUWCMarion CI !Hendry CIIWColk CI ndian Rivcr CIUlmcr CI/WC!BC lManin CI/WC

Iromoka CIIWC hkeechobee CI~phyrltills CI ~FRCJAnnex

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 12

Dear St.IT, What I wantlO 50llnd 01T about is the food sen'i« ....'thin the DOC lind at OCI. When I earne inlO the system in 1980. lhc: DOC master menus pro­Vided the Innutes wtfe sct....ed thr« substllntial. nutntious, wholesome meals per day. We could seleet clean food trays from the dirty ones and sec the food llemsbeing put on DIlr trays. Some of the items were self-sen'ed Food service back thcn was not really an issue as evidrncc:d by the majority of the class action law­SUits filed by Florida plisoners O\'tf the past 19 )~~, But now, although It's slill nOl an issue. the food service at many of lhe prisons within the lX>C IS, m m)'opinion. bad ifnol sickenIng. At just about cvery in~tilll1ion Ihal eonlf1lets Wilh n food catering company there is 0 problem wilh lhe food service, El1he/ the pelf'

lions an: small, the preparations lUe poor. or the food items sen'ed ale of the poorest quality: The rolling doors an: down on many of the serving lines, and thispmenlS the observation ofunsanitllr)' food service thaI someone else may not reeognw: and complain about At some prisons. inmOles llf(: no longer allolled 10

select their o....n food tmys, and al CCI. I have received mMy meals served on defeclive, swined, or dlny food trays. To beller the food service conditions III cel,I have filed many gJievancc:s at the insmution31 and Centtlll Office !<:\'eI, ho....~\·er. 10 00 '\'ail I hB\'e filed so many legitimate grievances, which were demal,until I ha\( stopped complaining. Out of all !he gnn'lJlCC$ thl! I hB\-e li1ed, the onl) one I recall being lIpplO\'ed was the grievance I filed aboullhe IISC offoodtr'I)'S \lith sharp, ja.gged edges. I ha\'e filed about the preparauon IUld cooL:ing of roods by inmates IIho don't know how to cook. the poor quality of the foodsthey sen cd, the InsufficlCf1t portions they sen'e. the dirty food lfII)'$. and man) other food service problems th3I present a haunt to the Inmales health. no....nalOOO aVllI. On one occasIon Ili1edand .....as lOld thatl .....as not 111 MC DONALDS HO\\~er. a1lhough I am not 111 MC OONALDS .....here ),ou ha\e It )'0Uf .....y.1am noc &CUIng the food the WI)' 11 IS supposed lO be. For the ntalth of all the prisoners ,I hope the new secmary of DOC puIS' boot in the companies that eaterfood service lO the DOC. kiek them out the door. and employ certified chcCs and dIeticians 111 n'cry major prison. For the same rcason. I hope the Inspector Gen­eral dlKO'o'CfS the other problems menlioned abo\'e and takes correai\"( action Unlll then, the food service at many prisons is going to Stay the ~bad, G.SCCI

DeDI FPLP. IJust a/Iled to gh'e)'OU my new addrtSS so my COP)' ofFPLP can ealch up with mcE\'cry time ~ are mo\'ed .... e have to purchase alocL: for our locken If .... e arc transferred to an mstitution tlutt supplies litem lhen they thlO.... DIlr p.ald fot

onc DIll. I ha\'c purchased 3 locks in 2 )'rs at $6AO each,Even lhough the entire compound has a jacket the)' lef~ to issuc me wllh one because it is July, [ om 65 yn old lind work and 1I\'e in an air-conditioned

environment.Being a resident ofTCU we go eyerywhcle as a unit. We have to line up oolSide the unil and wait for everyone, We wear a dress llRd stnnd in the flIin lind

gel wet Then \I~ walk to the "Wellncss" unil and hO\'e to sit in lhe AJC \lhieh is \·ery. \'ery cold for It1 hou/, No jllCket. no s.....eal shirt.just sit and hstm to)llUl"leeth chatler.

Things you purchase on lX>C canlcen life rcmo\'ed from ),our properi)' so )"ou an: always having to rcphlce them. They h.ve shipped me: 7 limes in 2112 )1$and I lIII\t no family lO we can: of me, friends send money .....hen they can.

We ean'l 1III\'e rainroats bceause they gh'e them to all the new inmales, They expect us to buy them. You life farted 10 go e\'et)'Yohere or e1sc)"ou get pllp('l'~and~~~~ •

We also an: gi\en onl) I blanket. With the AlC rcalla.... myoid bones reall) f«llt BUI pleadmg ..... lth the officers In the clothmg room doesn't ....-oO;

A.tlo....~111 .....as held (1\"(1 fOf 7 da)'S withoul an) clothes to chllngc. Females need Jlllnties I had to put on damp clothes e\'ery mommg. TCU

FPLP, I am wriung to send my smcere thanks fOf )'Our publiealJOn lind the elTortS In )'OUI strivings 10 kcep prisoners in the Florida penal system abreast as lO 1Ih.a1is happening and going on throughout the SlatC. Some m.y OOIlppreciate ....hat )'OIIl:e doing for they DIe the ones that !ul\'C submitted to the trea1mtnt they re­tell'e and most hkely the ones that hinder people Ill.:e )'OUr organlzotion lind myself from obtaimng basic human rights and fair trealment. In the lastlh'e years 01so I ha\'e nolieed n sad trcnd in lhe Wllr prisoners in the Florida penal system ha\e become inmMes, I was scheduled to be released from CM in Seplember 97,well m June 97 I received a bogus diseipliRlll)' tepon solei)' because I would not be an Informant for the eOrTC1:tional staff working the housing unit Well anetgOing throug.h the grievance proccss for this violalion, I was subjected to numerous othcr disciplinary reports and Olher itllfeatmenl (IE: not being fed, plltCed onspeelal manllgemenl three: limtl,(stlip StalUS)] . Then on MlUCh 19th 1998 I WllS ,nacked and beaten by three officcrs while in hllndculTs and given an outsidccharge for them attacking me. I beat the outside charge The core of this is that my ploblem started not with the correctional stafT bul my anemplS to lISSlst(lnmllttS) wilh litigation or being ill,treated and their thanks in return was 10 tcll, guide and suppon the officers against mc knowing I would nol be a snitch forthem To thIS "ery day some ofthe same ones thllt assisted in m)' phghtllf(: feeling the ill effects by the same stalTthat anempted to ea~ me harm But .... hcnner[ lelUi )'OUI publieations 111J\'es me hope and joy that I am not completely surrounded by inmales There lilt still convielS lind OfganllJlUons out there that ha\'eno! submilled to thIS inhuman uealment of prisoners llI\d for tluU reason I om renewing my subscription and sprwing the word for others lO support )'OU bc:dlInsllk and out. MMA

Deaf FPLP. Could rOll inform the pUblic of an inJusllc(: being done lO those ofus Ulelrtm!led in FtX>C? This is one: of!he many battles we must faa: in our ('o'erpresent ........... hile saving our days for DOC.

A memo posted at I...cvy ForcsU)' Camp and Lo....ell·s mll.ln umt and !loot camp, dated 6Il1V99. from our COlTeCtional Probation Kflior supervisol, Mrs. AM Durton, hsts new timelines for p3J1icipation in communnr work release IUId «nter work release: pfO&Blll$.

Our current eliglblhl)' enterla as per chapter JJ-9 02] swes: [nmates wllhin the last 36 mon!hs ofconfinement are e1igLble fOf cons.dentlOll for «nter wonIelease. unless sc:rvmg a non-ld\'IUI«able (8'~ release date.. !hen they shall be considered wlIhin IS months of the earlicst release date (ERD). Inmales 11110llf(: wllltin !he IllSt 24 monlhs of confinement will be considered for community worl.: release unless serving a oon·advllneeable release date., then they shall be:considered "uhin 12 monlM of their ERD.

This DOC memo, \lhlCh blUes Mrs. A,M, BurtDns signalure only, chJlnges ecntcr worl.: relellSC (permanenl pllrly), 10 18 months for inmales sentenced be­fore 85" guidelines. For those: of us serving 8'" sentences, our plllCCment dllte would be at 12 months.

Cooununity wort release (regullU) shall be penTlilled for 8'" sentenees at 7 months prior to thm ERD. Others with advllneeable gain time WIll now bemade to walt to sign at 12 months, These ehllnges hO\'e not been the re.sull from our guidelines in ehaptet 33 being revised, They do. also. seem lO be a diree:tylOlatKll\ ofAorida llatUC' 921001 (4). 1F lei

(Af/ kl/tfJ frCf!rvrd amnot~prjn/~d~ of3pQ« rrJlrietiQM.. U1Ui~ Itt/lUI will not bit prUlud 0#' lell~fJ thaI' o/A'iClU$1)'an not In/mtkdfO#'/lWllOlL PfetlM indlCtlle In 'OIU' ~IItI" If '0\1 do not 1f'(lIIIl/ UlUd. OiMrw/Jlt FPlJ> rrJV"\'U tlttI n 110 Jll! all kuen rr«fvtdand10 Nil kUen

-

GIORDANO & RHOTON, P.A.

•

POST CONVICTION AT

{;) APPEALS

i.-;) STATE POST CONVICTION

{!; SENTENCE CORRECTIONS

{;) FEDERAL PETITIONS FOR WRITOF HABEAS CORPUS

i.-;) NEW TRIALS412 East Madison Street

Suite 1111Tampa Florida 33602

(813) 218-0070I .. ' 'J ., "I" , .I .•·', ,f' ". • . • ., .. I ,. ",' ..

I .'!"',... .,.' .• ~. l·••••.,,,," ... ," ", ....'~. ,

COMBINED EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD

1 he hiring of a a.wyer is aa importaDt decisioa that Iboald Dot be based lately OD advertilemeata.Before )'00 ded uk allG IeIld yoo free wrilteD Ia about

VISA, MASTERCARD, & AMERICAN EXPRESS ACCEPTED

F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 14

F_ stlJSCHF/ICMFORII XPNaa P.O. Boz fl6G.387

L.", """-n. 32766

PenpecMea

Reue check tJpetubI~ desired:o 0 0

lldYid:.W~ ReaewalSI2/y< S3Il/y< 10><'" T'tPoI

UllUIed U.s. pclIIlqe JtamJ-~ ucqtedfor.w:.~in !be amCUlliIriWed. MIke c.becb or I%lCDeJ arden paJIhIe III Florida Priaall LeulP~PubWhcdbi·mmlhJy. SEPT"

U10, pkue compl.ete the below infamllicn and &end i! to FPLP 10

dw !be mallina~ CUI be upda1ed and IO}'CU daD'! miu an laue.

Dol<d:'U:;=...-""'nii:=Mail To: FPLP, P.O. Boz ~187, 0Julucta. FL 32766

nonviolent prison population exceeds thecombined general population of Alaskaand Wyoming. The nonviolent prisonpopulation is three time the size of the vio­lent and nonviolent prisoner population ofthe entire European Nation, and those na­tions have a combined gcneral populationof 370 million people, over a third largerthan the U.S. general population of 274million.

A copy of that report can be obtainedby calling the JPI at: (202) 678·9282, or onthe Web at: www.cjcj.orgfjpi.•

PETITION TO INITIATERULEMAKING GRANTED

Recently, many institutions were failing toprovide monthly statements to Florida pris­oners detailing the activity in their inmatebank trust fund accounts. This failurecaused FPLP advisor, and Florida CI pris­oner, Susanne Manning 10 file a Petition toInitiate Rulemaking with the FDOC re­questing that a rule be adopted to mnndatethe provision of such a monthly statementto all Florida prisoners. Susanne's petitionwas successful. On July 2, 1999, FDOCSecretary Michael Moore granted the peti­tion to initiate rulemaking proceedings forthe promulgation ofsuch a rule.•

DOJ INVESTIGATIONSTALLED - IMMIGRANTSCLAlM BEATINGS-ABUSE

IN FLORIDA COUNTY JAIL

In a recent report released byAmnesty International (AI) on the useof electroshock equipment in U.S. jailsand prisons, were questions why U.S.Justice Depal1ment (DOJ) officialstook months to start an investigation in1998 following allegations that immi­gration detainees wert beaten nndshocked in a county jail in Florida, andwhy that investigation appears now tohave stalled over a year later.

The jail where the alleged lor­ture of immigrants occurred is the Jack­son County Correctional Facility 10'cated in the Florida Panhandle region.The investigation was prompted bycomplaints from the Florida ImmigrantAdvocate Center, a private group inMiami, after they received sworn affi­davits from 17 detainees at the jail de·tailing various levels of abuse. Eventhough the DOJ finally agreed to inves·tigate the claims months after theywere first repol1ed, only one of the im·migrants had been questioned by Aprilof lhis year.

Two of the detainees who al·leged they had shock shields used onthem at lhe facility, and who were laterreleased and are living in Miami, saidno one has contacted them from theDOJ. Both of these immigrants claimthat they were subjected to a form ofpunishment known as being"crucified," consisting of being shack·led to a concrete bed spread.-eagle and

then shocked with an electric shield thatdelivers thousands of volts. One of thoseimmigrants claims his teeth were kickedOUI by guards while shackled to Ihe bed.

In the sworn statements that wereturned over to the DOJ, the immigrantscomplained of beatings, shocks fromstunning devices, arbitrary use of solitaryconfinement, and ethnic and raciol taunlSby officers. The INS, which uses countyjails across Ihe U.S. 10 house detainees,removed all delainees from the JacksonCounty facility after the allegations ofabuse surfaced. Most of the detainees inthe jail were being held for depol1ation,some aftcr serving criminal sentences inSlate prisons.

Jail administrators deny that abuseoccurred at the facility, claiming thatwhile sometimes detainees were strappedto the concrete bed for Iheir own protet:·tion, no one was mistreated.

AI officials, however, say the useof shock shields. slun belts, and eleetricbatons by officers at the Jackson Countyjail and other U.S. jails and prisons raisesserious questions. "We believe the use ofelectroshock equipmenl is dangerouslyblurring the line between legitimate pris­oner control and torture. We arc callingfor more vigorous investigation of themedical effects and the oppol1unity forabuse," said Janice Christensen, directorof national campaigns at AmneslY USA.

•

\

,

Florida Department of Corrections2601 Blair Stone Rd.

Tallahassee FL 32399-2500(850) 488-5021

Web Site: www.dc.state.fl.us

FDOC FAMILY OMBUDSMAN

The FIX>C has allegedly created 3 new position in thecentral office to address complaints and provide assis·umcc to prisoner's families and friends Sylvia Wil­liams is the FDOC emplo)'ee appointed as the"Family Ombudsman." According to Ms. Williams.1bc: Ombudsman works as a mediator br:t\l.'ec:n fami­lies, mmnJ:es. and the department to reach the mostefTecti\'c n:solution." The FDOC Family ServicesHotline: is toll·free: 1·8()()..SSS.-6488

FDOC SPANISH HELPLINE

The FDOC has IlIso created a help line to'lWist Span­ish-speaking Citizens abtam information from thedepartrncnL Tma Hinton is the FDOC crnplo)'CC mlhis position. Contact. 1~0041()..4248

[Please mform FPLP of you have lUly problems withusmg the abo\' services)

Florida Corrections Commission2601 Blnir Slooe Rd.

Tallahassee FL 32399-2500(850)413-9330

Fax (850~ 13-9141EMail: [email protected]

Web SIlC' www.dosstalc:.n.uslfgilslagencicslfcc:

The Florida Corrections Commission iscomposed of eighl citizens appoinled by thegovernor to QVCTSeC the: Florida Depanmentof Corrections. advise the govcrnor andlegislature on correctional issues, andpromote public education aboul lItecorrectional system in Florida. TheCommission holds regular meetings aroundthe slale which the public may attend toprovide input on issues and problemsaffecting thc correctional system in Florida.Prisoncrs families and friends are encouragedto conl11ct the Commission to advise thcm ofproblem areas. The Commission isindependent of thc FDOC and is interested inpublic pBnicipation and commentsconcerning the oversight oflhe FDOC.

Office of the GovernorPL 05 The Capitol

Tallahassee FL 32399-0001(850) 488-2272

ChleflnspcClor Genera!. , 922-4631Citizen's Assistance Admm 488-1146Commission/Government Accountnbility10 the People.. . 922-6901

Office of Executive Clemency260 I Blair Slone: Rd.Bldg. C. Room 229

Tallalulssec FL 32399-2450(850)488-2952

Coordinator. JlUld Keels

Florida Parolc:/Prob3tion Commission2601 Blair Stone Rd.• Bldg CTalllIhasscc FL 32399-2450

(850) 488-1655

Department or law EnforcementP.O. Box 1489

TalJalulssec FL 32302(850)488-1880

Web Site: \\1\\''',_ fdle.stale.n.us

Florida Resource Organizations

Florida Institutional LtgaI ServicesII IO-C NW 8th Ave.Gainesville FL 32601

(352)955-2260Fax: (352)955-2189EMail: [email protected]

Web Sile: www.afn.org/fiIsi

Families with Lovcdoncs In Prison

710 Flanders Ave.Daytona Beh FL 32114

(904)254-8453EMail: [email protected]

Web Sile: www.afn.org/ flip

Restorative Justice Ministry NetworkP.O. Box 819

Ocala. FL 34478(352) 369-5055

Web: www.rjmn.netEmail: [email protected]

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Please check your mailing label for the date that your subscription toFPLP will expire. On the top line will be reneeted a date such as • ...Nov99..•. That date indicates the last month of your current subscription toFPLP. When you receive the FPLP issue for that month, please renewyour subscription immediately so that you do not miss an issue of FPLP.Your support through subscription donatioru makes publication possibleand is greatly appreciated. Please take. the time to complete the enclosedsubscription form to subscribe to or renew your subscription to FPLP. Ifthe subscription form is missing, you may write diredly, enclose therequested donation, to subscribe.Moving? Transferred? Please complete the enclosed Address ChangeNotice so tbat the mailing Ilst can be updated.Injustice anywhue is a threat to jUSlice.n'erywhere. • "'anin Luthu King.

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, F.P.L.P. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5 Page 16