In the aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the nation’s attention has turned to the issue of police brutality. The problem of abuse and excessive force by law enforcement also extends to America’s prison system. Nowhere is inmate abuse more evident and prevalent than in Florida.
In recent years, multiple cases of physical and sexual abuse of Florida’s prison inmates have come to light.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that two correctional officers were suspended from duty at Lake Butler’s Reception and Medical Center after an inmate said he was sexually assaulted.
Last month, Florida Department of Corrections secretary Mike Crews fired three employees at the Dade Correctional Institution near Miami. The employees, a warden and two assistants, were terminated for delaying the investigation into the death of Darren Rainey.
Rainey, an inmate at the institution, died in 2012 after being locked in a scalding shower.
The Dade Correctional Institution has a history of prisoner abuse. Three former employees have alleged that facility employees repeatedly harassed mentally ill inmates for “sport.”
The pattern of abuse in Florida’s prisons is appalling and horrifying. Investigators evaluating the Florida Department of Corrections have described the state’s prison system as “rife with corruption, brutality and officially sanctioned gang violence.”
Some may argue that inmate abuse isn’t really an issue at all. After all, these individuals were found guilty of crimes, so they deserve whatever punishment they receive while incarcerated.
This is a dangerous line of thinking that attempts to justify abhorrent and illegal behavior. Even prisoners have the constitutional right of protection from cruel and unusual punishment.
The true measure of a society that claims to champion human rights is how that society treats those who are most vulnerable to having those rights violated. Inmates within the Florida prison system certainly fall into this category, and our state has done a miserable job of stopping prisoner abuse.
The move toward prison privatization championed by Gov. Rick Scott would only worsen Florida’s shameful track record of inmate abuse. A study from the U.S. Department of Justice found that assaults on inmates by corrections officers are 49 percent more prevalent in private prisons than in traditional, government-operated facilities.
Scott is notorious for his close ties to leaders in the private prison industry, including George Zoley of GEO Group Inc. Zoley and his company have given generously to Scott’s 2010 and 2014 campaigns and even donated $20,000 to help renovate the governor’s mansion. If Scott has his way and Florida’s prisons become privatized, the disgraceful treatment of our state’s inmates is sure to continue.
Crews has said in the past that he has a zero-tolerance policy for inmate abuse. The corrections secretary must follow these strong words with meaningful and significant action to ensure that this disturbing trend ceases.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 9/10/2014 under the headline "Inmate abuse must be addressed by correctional leaders"]
