Epidemic. That’s a good word to describe Florida when it comes to sexual crimes perpetrated on inmates behind bars. And although we’ve been concentrating on Jacksonville’s jail, the statewide prison system is perhaps more dangerous for inmates It has, for example, the dubious distinction of tying with Texas for having the most prisons with high […]
Human Rights Watch Releases Report on Treatment of Mentally Ill in U.S. Prisons and Jails
The report is called Callous and Cruel: Use of Force against Inmates with Mental Disabilities in US Jails and Prisons. Here is an excerpt from the Summary: Across the United States, staff working in jails and prisons have used unnecessary, excessive, and even malicious force on prisoners with mental disabilities such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. […]
FJI Secures $150K Settlement For Formerly Incarcerated Man Who Lost Eye in Brutal Attack
FJI has settled a lawsuit on behalf of Jeremy Barrett, who was formerly incarcerated in the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC). While serving his three-year sentence, Mr. Barrett was transferred to a cell with another inmate who had a history of attacking his cellmates, and warned corrections officers that, because of his mental condition, he […]
Disabled Santa Rosa inmate to get $97K in settlement
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit brought by a partially paralyzed inmate in a Santa Rosa County prison who had been denied the use of a wheelchair while in his cell and had been retaliated against by prison staff for pursuing legal action against the prison. The settlement requires the Florida Department of […]
FJI & ACLU Secure Near-$100K Settlement for Paralyzed Man Whose Wheelchair Was Withheld by Prison Officials
For years, Richard Jackson has needed a wheelchair for mobility, and used one without incident during his stay in prison. When he was transferred to Santa Rosa Correctional Institution, however, prison officials took away his wheelchair while in his cell. He was locked alone in his cell for over a year, only permitted to leave for […]
FJI & FILS Settle Case for Mother of Deceased Pepper-Sprayed Inmate for $175,000
FJI, co-counseling with Florida Institutional Legal Services, sued the Florida Department of Corrections for the death of Rommell Johnson. Mr. Johnson was severely asthmatic and one day suffered an asthma attack that required a nebulizer treatment in his cell. Later that evening, he was sprayed with chemical agents (pepper spray) for allegedly making noise in […]
Corrections Revamps Policies On Gassing Inmates, Use Of Force
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) — The Florida Department of Corrections plans to disallow the use of chemicals on prisoners with respiratory issues and is working to reduce the use of force on mentally ill inmates. The changes to the policy regarding inmates with respiratory ailments, such as asthma, come after reports of at least two prisoners dying as […]
FJI Files Two Lawsuits for Race Discrimination in Apartment Rentals
FJI, on behalf of Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence, has filed two lawsuits alleging racial discrimination in the renting of apartments. The Complaints are available here and here. HOPE sent fair housing testers to two apartment complexes–one in Miami and one in Opa-Locka. The tests revealed that, on the same days, the Black testers were […]
FJI Obtains Hernia Surgery for Incarcerated Man
FJI, on behalf of an incarcerated man with a serious and debilitating hernia, filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections and Corizon (the private prison medical provider), seeking to secure an immediate surgery to repair his hernia. A motion for preliminary injunction was filed, and a hearing was held in Tallahassee in September […]
Culture of brutality reigned at state prison in Florida Panhandle
Few people knew the depths of terror, misery and pain inflicted upon Florida’s state prison inmates more profoundly than Capt. James Kirkland. During 14 years as a corrections officer, Kirkland was repeatedly accused — and not just by inmates, but by fellow corrections officers — of abusing inmates at the Northwest Florida Reception Center in […]
State To Reopen Fatal Case Of Inmate Gassing
Rommell Johnson, an inmate at a Florida Panhandle prison who had chronic asthma, couldn’t breathe on June 3, 2010. Less than five hours after receiving treatment for severe breathing problems by a day-shift nurse, Johnson was dead, the result of an asthma attack caused by noxious chemicals sprayed by guards. The death was ruled accidental […]
Miami Police Killing Produces $1.125M Settlement
Details: Operation Southern Tempest was a joint federal-municipal effort assigned to nab gang members with ties to narcotics and illegal weapons. A police officer on the task force shot and killed an unarmed black man near a Miami nightclub on Feb. 10, 2011. The victim, Travis McNeil, had no gang affiliation or contraband. Plaintiffs case: […]
Overlooked Law Costs Inmates Suing for Kosher Diet
The petitioner’s lawyer and the federal trial judge erred, but that’s understandable, there are too many laws to keep straight, Chief Judge Ed Carnes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit opined in a civil rights case. “The current universe of federal law did begin with a bang, although not a big […]
Victory for Privacy as Deadline for Florida to Appeal Welfare Urinalysis Case to Supreme Court Expires
MIAMI, FL – A years-long battle over the right of poor Floridians to be free from invasive government searches ended in victory today as Florida officials decided not to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a federal court ruling striking down a law mandating that applicants for the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program […]
City of Miami approves nearly $1 million payout to family of Travis McNei
The city of Miami has settled a civil rights lawsuit with the family of a man shot and killed by a police officer in 2011. On Thursday, Miami commissioners approved a $975,000 payout to Travis McNeil’s estate, which had already reached a $150,000 settlement with federal agencies who were participating in the operation that resulted […]
FJI Settles for $1.125 Million Over Fatal Shooting of Travis McNeil by Miami Police Department – Updated Feb. 27, 2015
UPDATE 2/27/15: Yesterday the City of Miami Commissioners approved a $975,000 payment to the Estate of Travis McNeil to settle a civil rights case stemming from McNeil’s fatal 2011 shooting by a Miami police officer. Mr. McNeil’s Estate had already reached a $150,000 settlement with federal agencies who were also participating in the operation that resulted […]
FJI and ACLU Sue Leon County Jail Over Postcard Only Policy
Joining with other jails around the country, in 2014 the Leon County Jail in Tallahassee adopted a policy that required all incoming mail to inmates to be in postcard form. Family and friends were prohibited from sending letters in envelopes, or enclosing any information like report cards or newspaper articles. Because of the Postcard Only […]
‘Prison Legal News’ vs. the State of Florida: A Battle Against Censorship
Last month, a small, black-and-white newsprint magazine quietly made a case in a Florida courtroom to protect the fundamental rights that nearly every citizen in the industrialized world holds dear. Yet the odds are, you didn’t hear a word about it. Prison Legal News has reported on the legal landscape of prisoners’ rights in America’s […]