TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Florida Justice Institute (FJI) have filed federal and state suits challenging the Florida Department of Corrections’ (FDC) enforcement of a $547,850 lien against an incarcerated person, arguing that it violates federal law to confiscate civil rights settlement funds and state law to do so without following collection procedures.
FDC imposed the lien in July 2024 after Baez settled a lawsuit against FDC officers who beat him so severely that he lost an eye. Then, without providing notice or following any state law procedures required for lien collection, FDC took the very funds from Baez’s prison bank account that it paid to settle the suit. Also, because the lien was more than what he had in his account, he will leave prison not only with a lifelong disability, but also in debt.
“Jason Baez was sentenced in 2006 for his crimes and is serving his punishment of imprisonment,” said Kelly Knapp, Senior Staff Attorney at SPLC. “The State shouldn’t be able to add an additional penalty of over a half-million dollars 20 years later, especially if the only money Mr. Baez has is from his settlement when FDC employees partially blinded and disfigured him.”
Under Florida law, FDC can impose “cost of incarceration” liens in the amount of $50 for each day of a person’s prison sentence, plus almost 10% interest. These liens attach to any money the convicted person has now or in the future until paid off. While in prison, FDC generally does not pay incarcerated people for prison labor, and their only income comes from people who give them money to buy daily necessities like deodorant and stamps from the prison canteen. A national study found that, after release, about two-thirds of formerly incarcerated people were “jobless at any given time.”
Baez was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2006. After he settled a civil rights lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections employees who beat him in 2019, FDC asked the state court to impose a $547,850 lien against him. The state court approved the lien the same day, before Baez had notice or an opportunity to respond to FDC’s request. The same court also refused to consider any constitutional challenges to the lien, making it necessary for Baez to seek relief in federal court. And instead of following the required state law procedures to collect money to satisfy a lien, FDC abruptly—once again without notice—emptied Baez’s prison bank account, seizing his entire settlement, forcing Mr. Baez to seek relief in state court, too.
“The odds are already stacked against Mr. Baez and other people leaving prison to find jobs, housing, healthcare, and overall stability,” said Dante Trevisani, Litigation Director of FJI. “Adding a lien that they’ll never be able to pay back and confiscating any funds they might have does nothing for the state and is counterproductive for reentry. Instead of saddling people coming out of prison with crushing debt, we should be setting them up for success.”