A coalition of human rights groups, including the Florida Justice Institute, has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice urging the DOJ to open an investigation into Florida prisons. The letter details the many deaths in Florida prisons that have not been investigated, as well as several examples of abuse and torture that have […]
Torture, neglect, death: Human rights groups urge feds to tackle Florida prisons
A coalition of 14 human rights groups on Thursday called for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Florida state prisons, contending that “immediate intervention” is necessary to stop the widespread abuse, neglect, torture and deaths of inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections. Read the full article.
Editorial: A safety crisis in Florida’s prisons
Florida’s cash-strapped prison system is hemorrhaging money and guards, and the state’s refusal to spend what it takes to maintain safety behind bars is endangering staff, inmates and the public. Those findings, by an outside auditor commissioned by the Florida Department of Corrections, should be a wakeup call for Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature […]
Audit details ‘dangerous’ understaffing at Florida prisons
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s prisons are so “chronically understaffed” for even the most basic daily routines that an emergency should be declared to keep corrections officers and inmates safe, an independent audit commissioned by the Florida Department of Corrections has concluded. The lack of staff costs the state millions in overtime costs, encourages vacancies, falls below […]
Florida prisons audit: Improvements made; more needed
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida prison system is making “impressive” improvements but still needs more corrections officers, staff training and video cameras, according to a use-of-force audit of the Department of Corrections released Thursday. The audit of the department, which saw a near doubling of use-of-force incidents over a recent five-year span, was conducted by the […]
Lawsuit claims Florida inmates are denied surgeries
Three inmates are suing the Florida Department of Corrections and medical contractor Corizon, alleging Corizon refused to provide medically necessary surgical procedures in an effort to keep costs down. The class-action lawsuit, which cites several other cases of alleged inadequate care, accuses Corizon of violating prisoners’ Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment. Corizon […]
FJI Sues Apartment Complex for Race Discrimination on Behalf of HOPE and Other Applicants
The Florida Justice Institute has filed a lawsuit against the owners and operators of Aventura Harbor Apartments for race discrimination against prospective tenants. The case is brought on behalf of Housing Project Opportunities for Excellence (HOPE), a local fair housing organization that sent testers of different races to ask about the availability of apartments, and several individual […]
Miami-Dade County does a U-turn on ‘José Milton Way’
There will be no José Milton Way in Miami-Dade County — at least not for now. Miami-Dade commissioners backed away from the previously approved street naming on Wednesday, two days after the Milton family’s real estate businesses were again sued for racial discrimination. “Until the court renders an opinion over that, I feel that it […]
Weeks after Miami-Dade honor, Milton family is again sued for discrimination
Earlier this month, when Miami-Dade Commissioners named a street after real estate developer José Milton, they brushed aside the fact that Milton’s company had been previously accused in court of racial discrimination, saying the allegations had been settled decades ago. Milton had donated money to county parks and other charitable causes since the days of […]
FJI Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Florida Department of Corrections and Corizon for Failure to Provide Hernia Surgeries
On September 16, 2015, the Florida Justice Institute (FJI) filed a class action lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) and its private medical contractor Corizon, LLC for failing to provide necessary hernia surgeries, resulting in possibly hundreds of incarcerated people being left in severe pain, unable to engage in normal activities, and at […]
Whistleblower prison guard paid the price for reporting abuse
Kelly Bradley crouched in the corner of his cell, cowering under a blanket, as five officers clad in riot gear barreled inside and jumped on him, pinning him facedown. As they cuffed Bradley’s wrists and ankles, one of the officers, William Hamilton Wilson, reached toward Bradley’s face and dug his index finger into the inmate’s […]
The Florida Supreme Court has Just Dealt a Big Blow to Legal Aid
A divided Florida Supreme Court refused Thursday to authorize Florida Bar leaders to raise attorney dues to fund legal aid. In a last batch of decisions before its summer hiatus, the court ruled 4-3 to turn down the request from a coalition of 522 Florida Bar members. The lawyers asked the high court to allow […]
Access to Justice Petition Filed with Fla. Supreme Court Seeks to Fund Legal Services for the Poor
On June 16, 2014, the Access to Justice Petition was filed with the Florida Supreme Court on behalf of 522 Florida bar member petitioners seeking increased access to legal services for the poor. The Petition was filed by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul G. Cantero of the law firm White & Case, who was […]
Grand jury report rips Florida prison over deadly beatdown
Matthew Walker was unconscious, handcuffed, face-down on the sidewalk, in front of a dorm at Charlotte Correctional Institution. The inmate had been beaten and his larynx was crushed so badly that his throat was swollen shut. Lt. Tyler Triplett, blood on his white shirt, stood over him. “Do you know who I am? I’m going […]
Symposium: An endorsement of forty years of effective fair housing enforcement
Morgan Williams is General Counsel of the National Fair Housing Alliance. Today’s decision in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project broke no new ground. It simply reaffirmed the consistent finding of the federal courts over the past four decades that the Fair Housing Act bars not only intentional discrimination, but […]
Taxpayer Tab In Drug Test Lawsuits Tops $1.5 Million
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – Florida taxpayers are on the hook for more than $1.5 million in legal fees — including nearly $1 million to civil-rights lawyers — because of Gov. Rick Scott’s failed push to force welfare applicants and tens of thousands of state workers to submit to suspicionless drug tests. The state agreed earlier this […]
Justice Dept. Should Finish the Job
Op-Ed by FJI Executive Director Randy Berg: On Aug. 2, 2011, Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado wrote then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder requesting Department of Justice’s (DOJ) assistance after seven black men had been killed by Miami Police Department (MPD) officers over eight months in 2010-2011. Travis McNeil was one of those black men unjustifiably killed. […]
State Pay $600K in Attorneys’ Fees to FJI and ACLU Over Lawsuit Declaring Suspicionless Drug Testing Unconstitutional
The State has also paid $600,000 in attorneys’ fees to FJI and the ACLU for their victory in this case. Read the press coverage about the total amount of taxpayer money was spent defending the State’s failed drug testing policies.