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In the news:

Execution brings death penalty to the forefront of governor's race
As the nation's first female serial killer prepared to die today on a gurney at Florida State Prison, the state's troubled death penalty system emerged as a point of contention between the two leading candidates for governor. 10/9/02

The Legislature's deadly games
The Legislature shouldn't play games with the death penalty. But during the last legislative session, lawmakers played "gotcha" with an attorney at the Holland & Knight law firm who has been trying to ensure that prisoners on death row have competent legal representation. 10/9/02

Freed inmate fighting executions
Juan Melendez spent nearly 18 years on Death Row for the murder of a beauty salon owner. 10/9/02

Man wrongly jailed for 22 years sues
A mentally retarded man who spent 22 years in prison before DNA evidence cleared him of murder is suing the Broward County Sheriff's Office and the former deputies who investigated his case. 9/27/02

Guest editorial: More reasons to abolish death penalty
On Tuesday, Texas executed the 800th death-row inmate since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. Hours earlier, a federal judge in Vermont ruled that the federal death penalty is unconstitutional because it denies due process. What's wrong with this picture? What manner of schizophrenia makes America an international champion for humanitarian efforts and human rights, yet justifies state executions? Even as public opinion, courts, politicians and states challenge and turn against death-as- punishment, electric chairs and gas chambers keep churning out gallows justice. 9/27/02

Lawyer tells high court of 'grave doubts' about Wuornos
TALLAHASSEE — A lawyer representing condemned serial killer Aileen Wuornos has written the state Supreme Court to share his "grave doubts" about her mental condition. Wuornos, scheduled to die by lethal injection Oct. 9, does not want to fight her execution and won permission from Florida's high court in April to fire her state lawyers and drop her appeals. 9/25/02

Conviction in '66 murder overturned
By John Pacenti, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Crucial evidence was withheld about the murder of Sebring millionaire Charles Von Maxcy, a judge ruled. 9/20/02

Bush signs death warrants for two, including Wuornos
TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday signed orders to execute two death row inmates next month: Aileen Wuornos, a hitchhiking prostitute convicted of killing six middle-aged men along Florida highways in 1989 and 1990; and Rigoberto Sanchez Velasco, condemned for the 1986 murder of an 11-year-old Hialeah girl. 9/7/02

N. Florida prison is taking lot of heat
The question of heat in a Florida prison was elevated to an Eighth Amendment issue in an unusual Jacksonville trial last week. Specifically: How hot is too hot for a cell on Death Row? 8/4/02

Some Broward probationers mistakenly told they couldn't vote
The Florida Department of Corrections is investigating an error that may have disenfranchised a number of eligible voters in four counties over the past four years.
A handful of probation officers (44) in Broward, Monroe, St. Johns and Orange counties relied on an unofficial document to instruct offenders on probation that they've lost certain civil rights, even if the offenders had their adjudication withheld as part of a plea agreement.-- 
That instruction was false. 8/3/02

Hearing officer upholds firing of Panhandle prison guards
WEWAHITCHKA — A hearing officer has recommended upholding the firings of three guards accused of abusing an inmate caught with a contraband radio at the state's Gulf Correctional Institution. Hearing officer Jack Ruby accepted testimony accusing Lt. Carmen McLemore, who is also a Gulf County commissioner, and Sgt. Chris Wood of handcuffing the inmate to a tree and then taunting and teasing him in violation of Department of Corrections Policy. 7/27/02

Hearing on conflicting evidence in Broward deputy's killing
MIAMI — The state insists the right man is serving a life term in the killing of a Broward County sheriff's deputy, but the inmate's lawyers were just as adamant Wednesday that the wrong man is behind bars. In an unusual court review, a federal judge began hearing evidence that Timothy Brown didn't kill Deputy Patrick Behan and fired jail guard Andrew Johnson did. 7/25/02

EXONERATED BY DNA
Samuel Lee Roberts, 44, walked out of the Broward County Courthouse this week a free man thanks to DNA testing. The case is another example of DNA's value as a powerful forensic tool that can exonerate as well as incriminate defendants. 7/25/02

Florida death row inmates push their views on Internet
JACKSONVILLE — Amos King, facing execution for the 1977 stabbing death of a woman, tells visitors to his Web site that he was wrongly accused. "I'm innocent of the charges I'm on death row for. I'm the victim of a frame-up," King writes. It's a familiar theme. Several dozen Florida death row inmates have Web pages where they proclaim their innocence and plead for money and letters. Although some sites are created by friends and relatives, such as the site originally set up for Gainesville student killer Danny Rolling by his former girlfriend, many of them are supported by people in other countries who oppose capital punishment. 7/21/02

Gov. Bush stays mum on future of prisons chief-- PBA leaders on Thursday touted Bush for backing additional pension benefits for law enforcement officers during his time in office and said he had been the "ultimate governor for law enforcement." But other union officials have complained in the past about Bush's choice to run the prisons and have said that many rank-and-file correctional officers remain angry with both Moore and Bush....
"The Legislature has asked him to make incredible changes in a very dramatic way and that created some consternation early on but I do believe we're on the right track now," Bush said. ''By saying there is going to be changes does not reflect anything about Mike Moore. I consider him a good manager of the department."...
Moore has been under constant fire since taking the job in 1999. Shortly after he arrived, he had to deal with the beating death of convicted murderer Frank Valdes at Florida State Prison, which led to the arrest of correctional officers. The officers were acquitted but they lost their jobs. Moore also pushed through a controversial reorganization and tried to cut overtime expenses, a move that some officers said created a dangerous situation in some prisons because there weren't enough officers on duty.
The Department of Corrections has also embraced privatization of services that has sparked some criticism. A decision in 2001 to hand over food services in prisons to a private company has raised safety concerns. Florida has fined Aramark $110,000 during the last year because of repeated problems with the company's food operations, including not having enough food to give inmates. 7/12/02

Florida's capital sentencing law 7/14/02

Death Row complaints cite 4 guards
Condemned serial killer Aileen Wuornos seven months ago complained to the state Supreme Court that guards began mistreating her after she dropped her appeals in a move to hasten her own death. 7/13/02

Serial killer awaiting execution says she fears rape by guards - Serial killer Aileen Wuornos will be in Broward Circuit Court today for a hearing on her allegation that she is being abused on Death Row in Pembroke Pines. 7/12/02

Bush hits at court for death reprieves
An unofficial moratorium on the death penalty imposed by the Florida Supreme Court may have given hope to opponents of capital punishment, but it has also given a lift to the reelection campaign of Gov. Jeb Bush. 7/12/02

Florida executions still on hold
A state Supreme Court decision to stay deaths stands while it waits to hear a case in August. 7/11/02

Justice should prevail, not politics
It is no surprise to see Florida's death penalty in trouble. The state's capital-sentencing laws are deeply flawed, starting with the premise that state-sanctioned killing improves public safety or advances the cause of justice. 7/11/02

State asks to reverse death penalty delays
In what they called an "extraordinary" step, state lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to overturn a Florida Supreme Court order delaying a pair of executions this week. 7/10/02

Bush will keep signing death warrants
ORLANDO — Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that he will continue to sign death warrants for condemned inmates, and serial killer Aileen Wuornos may be next. Wuornos, one of the nation's first known female serial killers, has volunteered for death and has permission from the state Supreme Court to fire her lawyers. 7/10/02

Bush won't delay death warrants-- ORLANDO - Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that he would continue to sign death warrants for convicted killers, despite the Florida Supreme Court's decision Monday to halt the executions of two men while it determines if a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling threatens the state's death penalty system. 7/10/02

Court stays executions, wants time
The state Supreme Court will consider how a landmark ruling affects Florida's death penalty. 7/9/02

State High Court stays executions of Bottoson, King
TALLAHASSEE — Two executions scheduled for this week were stayed Monday by the Florida Supreme Court as defense attorneys and others argued the that state's capital punishment law was unconstitutional. Word of the indefinite stays came at noon, just six hours before the time set for the execution of Linroy Bottoson by lethal injection. Amos King had been scheduled for execution Wednesday. 7/9/02

Post office killer slated to die today
Death-row inmate Linroy Bottoson will be executed at 6 p.m. today for the 1979 murder of Eatonville postmaster Catherine Alexander unless a high court steps in and stops it. 7/8/02

Questions still wait on Florida's Death Row
Despite high court ruling, cases unclear. 7/8/02

Death warrants may be delayed
An attorney for one of two Florida inmates scheduled to be put to death this week is hopeful that lingering questions about a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision about sentencing will halt his client's execution. 7/7/02

To save duo, lawyers challenge death law
An alliance of defense lawyers across the state attacked Florida's death penalty law late Friday, filing emergency papers to halt next week's executions of Linroy Bottoson and Amos King and to block the sentencing of convicted killer William Coday in Fort Lauderdale.7/6/02

Death Row duo's lawyers weighing options
Lawyers for the first two men scheduled to be executed in Florida since last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the death penalty decided late Thursday against asking judges in Pinellas and Orange counties to block the executions -- at least for now.7/5/02

Broward judge upholds Florida death sentence
FORT LAUDERDALE — A Broward County judge has upheld the state's death penalty statute, a week after the U.S. Supreme Court left its constitutionality in question. Broward Circuit Judge Alfred Horowitz rejected a motion Tuesday to strike down the Florida law, which gives juries an advisory role and lets judges issue the final sentence. 7/4/02

Prisons need better food service
Florida officials are gambling with prison safety by continuing to employ Aramark Corp. as the principal food service provider for the state's correctional facilities. Since the company took over prison kitchens last year, it has continually violated regulations designed to promote sanitation and safety within the facilities. 7/2/02

Judge rules on death penalty
NEW YORK -- The federal death penalty was declared unconstitutional today by a judge who said too many innocent people have been executed before they could be vindicated.-- 
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff is the first federal judge to declare the 1994 Death Penalty Act unconstitutional, said Lee Ginsberg, lawyer for one of the defendants whose case led to the decision. Today's ruling would not affect individual states' death penalty statutes. 7/1/02

Death Penalty In Florida Escapes High Court Ruling TALLAHASSEE - Four days after finding capital punishment laws in five states unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court ended its term Friday without passing judgment on Florida's death penalty law.6/30/02

Criminal Injustice: Get-tough hysteria gives nod to harsh sentencing
In colonial America, the only "minimum mandatory" judges had to worry about was whether the rope was long enough to make a good noose. Most crimes were punishable by either death or a fine; prisons were all but unheard of.6/30/02

Florida high court rejects Rolling appeal in Gainesville slayings
TALLAHASSEE — Danny Rolling lost his second appeal Thursday in the Florida Supreme Court. In an unsigned opinion, the state's high court rejected legal issues raised by attorney for Rolling, including the argument that his five death sentences were recommended by a jury biased by fear. 6/28/02

Death knell: Court bares flaw in capital punishment
The case for the American death penalty is coming unraveled, exposing the injustice and illogic at its core.6/26/02

As many as 10 sentences in state may be commuted
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday with national implications for the death penalty could result in as many 10 convicted killers in Florida -- and perhaps more -- seeing their death sentences commuted to life in prison. 6/25/02

A needed tool in prisons
Letting prisoners play basketball could help corrections officers maintain order. 6/24/02

What Serrano shows
Update state policy on mentally ill criminals.6/24/02

Sports gear for inmates criticized
Florida prisons plan to buy basketballs and other sports gear under a new law that allows the purchase of ''wellness equipment'' and apparently reverses a ban on purchases of recreational equipment for inmates. 6/23/02

State Supreme Court rejects 4 appeals on death sentences-- TALLAHASSEE · Four Death Row inmates lost appeals Thursday in the Florida Supreme Court. Gov. Jeb Bush has not signed death warrants for any of the men, so their executions are not scheduled.6/14/02

Florida concentrating problem inmates with mental conditions
STARKE — Florida State Prison and three other state lockups will soon become home for problem inmates with treatable mental health conditions, officials said Wednesday. The inmates being moved are those who may benefit from mental health treatment but whose behavior is so bad they must be held in "close management," officials said. Concentrating the treatment programs in the four prisons will let them cut costs, they said.6/13/02

FSP shake-up may flood jail
Bradford County's sheriff is anxious about a move to house more inmates with mental and behavioral problems at the state prison.6/12/02

Rehab for a chance to succeed
The get-tough policy of harsher punishments and more prison beds for inmates is as prevalent across the nation as it is ineffectual. But a study released by the U.S. Justice Department last week shows once again that the "lock'em-up" strategy has proven a failure as a deterrent to crime. The number of inmates rearrested for new crimes has actually gone up despite the crackdown here and nationwide. 6/10/02

Amnesty International wants U.S. to investigate inmate's death
JACKSONVILLE — Amnesty International said Tuesday that it is deeply disturbed that charges have been dropped against five corrections officers charged in the 1999 killing of Florida death row inmate Frank Valdes. The human rights organization is calling on the Justice Department to make every effort to bring those responsible to justice.5/15/02

Amnesty pursues federal action in death of inmate Frank Valdes - Amnesty International, the London-based human rights organization, is pressing for federal action in the case of Frank Valdes, the Death Row inmate who authorities say was stomped to death at Florida State Prison in July 1999. 5/16/02

Guards won't face charges in inmate's death
After the February acquittal of three guards, the state drops its case against five other guards.

State drops case against prison guards
Three years after Death Row inmate Frank Valdes was beaten to death in an X-Wing cell, state prosecutors decided Friday to drop charges against five prison guards awaiting trial, following the acquittal of three other corrections officers in the same case in February.

Assaulted inmate wins $40,000 award
A federal jury in Tallahassee on Tuesday awarded a state prisoner $40,000 in damages after finding that a correctional officer was negligent when the man was sexually assaulted. Richard Kemner was being held in the Wakulla Correctional Institution in 1998 on a burglary conviction - his first offense, court records show. He complained to Capt. Reba Hemphill that he was being sexually harassed by other inmates and asked to be moved. Hemphill did nothing, Kemner's suit contended, and he later was raped...5/9/02

Don't execute retarded
It is cruel and unusual punishment to execute a person who is mentally retarded and whose understanding of justice is as limited as a child's.

U.S. to review beating death of prisoner -- The U.S. Justice Department will review whether Florida State Prison guards violated the civil rights of Death Row inmate Frank Valdes, who was stomped to death. Three guards were recently acquitted of his murder by a state jury. Dan Nelson, a Justice Department spokesman in Washington, D.C., confirmed Friday that investigators from the agency's Civil Rights Division would conduct "an independent review of the entire case to decide whether action is warranted."

Critics say prison abuse now comes in spray can
STARKE -- Lawyers who for years heard constant complaints about prisoner abuse in Florida's prison system say Frank Valdes' death changed the way officers operate behind bars.

Valdes jurors: State lacked `indisputable evidence'

3 prison guards acquitted
In just over three hours, a jury acquits the guards on all charges in the beating death of death row inmate Frank Valdes.

County near top in death cases
Pinellas and Hillsborough ranked among U.S. counties with the highest rate of death sentences, according to a new study that examined death penalty cases from 1973 to 1995.

Arizona case could affect 800 on death row
The fate of nearly 800 death row inmates in Florida and eight other states may rest on the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case that could have the most dramatic effect in 30 years on the way states apply the death penalty.

Far-flung web of legalities entangles the death penalty
If a New Jersey man named Charles C. Apprendi Jr. had not been such a racist fool, yet won his court case anyway, then Florida's death penalty law might not be up in the air today.

Judge refuses to acquit guards
STARKE - A judge refused to summarily acquit Thursday three former Florida State Prison guards accused of murdering a Death Row inmate, saying prosecutors had presented enough evidence to let the jury decide.

Preserve drug treatment - It's shortsighted to cut back on drug treatment for prisoners.- A whopping 60 percent of Florida's 72,000 prison inmates are serving time for offenses related to their alcohol or drug addictions. Taxpayers cough up more than $2 million a day to keep that population imprisoned.-- 
Effective treatment programs exist to address the problem, but Florida cut them back severely last fall to balance the state budget.

Feeding addictions
The Department of Corrections plans to reduce funding for its drug treatment programs to the tune of something like $13 million. That's just foolish public policy.

Budget cuts hit hard at Florida's care for addicts
Drug-abuse treatment at most of the state's big prisons is being cut back severely. South Florida's pioneering drug courts will be affected, too.

Sobbing ex-guard testifies about abuse
STARKE - A sobbing former prison guard testified in a videotape deposition that guards punched and kicked a Death Row inmate as they removed him from his cell and then later lied in their reports.

Court's sex-offender ruling shouldn't affect state's prisoners, attorneys say
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week refining the criteria that allows states to keep violent sexual predators locked up after their sentences end is not expected to have a major impact on the 385 sex offenders held in Florida facilities under the state's Jimmy Ryce Act, Florida attorneys say.

Inmate's execution is stayed -STARKE -- In a move that could affect the death sentences of many of the 372 inmates on Florida's Death Row, the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday halted today's execution of a St. Petersburg man convicted of raping and murdering a Tarpon Springs woman in 1977.

Supreme Court halts Floridian's execution
STARKE -- The U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution of a Florida man yesterday to consider if his case matches one in Arizona that could lead to Florida's death penalty being declared unconstitutional.

Two Southwest Florida prisons are expected to close in June, leaving nearly 200 employees to look for work elsewhere within the state prison system — some jobs as far away as North Florida where most of the prisoners they guard are expected to be sent.

Treatment considered for ballot
Constitutional proposal would allow alternative in drug cases A campaign to let low-level drug offenders avoid jail time by opting into treatment programs meets the criteria for getting on the ballot, a lawyer told the Florida Supreme Court.

Prosecutor considers moving trial of guards
In a county where prisons dominate the economy, nobody expected it would be easy to find impartial jurors for the trial of prison officers charged with murdering a death row inmate.

As law is tested, many sex offenders may go--One South Florida molester was released Monday as defense lawyers across the state mounted challenges to Florida's controversial Jimmy Ryce law.

Prisons work to cut inmate abuse
When Death Row inmate Frank Valdes was killed in July 1999 and several officers were accused in his death, the Florida Department of Corrections scrambled to implement reforms that would make prisons safer while combatting a storm of negative publicity.

Cuts in ranks of probation officers to be determined
The state's 2,200 probation officers may soon find out if they still will have jobs come January. The Department of Corrections plans to determine by the end of the week how many officers it will let go after lawmakers cut more than $18 million from the department's community supervision program, which monitors more than 153,000 criminals. 

Wild in the streets
If the budget bill passed during last week's special session is approved, there will be reason to worry about the adequacy of the state's supervision of offenders on probation.

Trial of 4 prison guards delayed
It's hard to find jurors in this prison-dominated area to judge guards accused of killing an inmate.

Cuts in ranks of probation officers to be determined
The state's 2,200 probation officers may soon find out if they still will have jobs come January. The Department of Corrections plans to determine by the end of the week how many officers it will let go after lawmakers cut more than $18 million from the department's community supervision program, which monitors more than 153,000 criminals. 

Prisoners file class-action suit to gain lost typewriters, books
A group of inmates has sued the Florida Department of Corrections, charging prison officials with "systematic efforts" to deny prisoners access to the courts by taking away their typewriters and law books.

Book ban hinders rehabilitation
The shortsighted policy of barring juvenile offenders from reading in their cells serves neither the juveniles nor the state.

Prisons study finds no signs of bias - TALLAHASSEE -- State corrections officials have found no evidence of widespread racial discrimination against guards at several Florida prisons they spent four months investigating.

Prisons are breeding grounds for HIV, but officials ignore problem - Although health-care workers say jails and prisons are a known transfer point for HIV, Florida prison officials are reluctant to screen because of the high cost of HIV-fighting drugs. Even so, they don’t distribute the condoms that might prevent HIV’s spread. 8/13

Groups: Prison abuse rampant --
ORLANDO - Abuse and neglect of inmates in Florida's prison system is widespread and serious, prisoners' and human rights organizations alleged Wednesday. "The Florida Department of Corrections is guilty of covering up the abuse and mistreatment of inmates on a grand scale," said George Crossley, a former evangelist who was released from prison in January.8/2

I was reading through your postings about Corrections and wonder if the people who write articles about inmate abuse have any idea about the abuse staff take on a daily basis from inmates. Like anything else in life, you have to have lived it to know what it's like. They might want to read "NewJack" or something that would give them a better picture of what prisons are really like.
.... one of many CO's who live it every day, 9/6

Majority of juveniles in adult prisons will stay there
By Barney Gimbel, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
After Lionel Tate was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in adult prison, and as fellow 14-year-old Nathaniel Brazill faced that possibility, the Florida Legislature changed how the state...

State removing typewriters from prisons - TALLAHASSEE -- Citing the cost of ribbons and repair, state corrections officials are confiscating typewriters and word processors from prison law libraries, forcing inmates without attorneys to write legal briefs by hand. 6/22/01 Miami Herald

Overrun in prisons challenged  Overrun in prisons challenged -Investigation sought of $12M overpaid for medical care (article not online anymore) - TALLAHASSEE -- Angry lawmakers on Wednesday said they would summon state auditors to investigate a $12 million cost overrun for inmate healthcare in the state prison system, including a contested contract to privatize medical services in South Florida prisons. (Miami Herald 4/26/01)
... Concerned dude in Dade 5/16/01

Corrections chief to stay put for now
Michael Moore had been a finalist for Texas prison post
Corrections Secretary Michael Moore won't be leaving Florida right away, after the Texas Criminal Justice Board on Thursday hired someone else for its top post.

Prison chief sets sights on Texas - TALLAHASSEE -- Michael Moore, whose 2 1/2 years as Florida corrections secretary have been marked by turmoil ranging from the beating death of an inmate to allegations of racism in the ranks, is seeking to run the prison system in his native Texas - St Pete Times 6/22

  Moore may soon head Texas prisons
...Moore said Thursday that he made the decision rather quickly "after much soul searching." Spokeswomen for both Moore and Bush had denied Moore was considering the job when the Tallahassee Democrat, acting on information from within the prison system, asked him about it just over a month ago. Tallahassee Democrat - 6/22/01

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More on the Prison Drug Treatment Cuts:

http://www.sptimes.com/2002/01/12/
Does not mention  the 90% loss of programs in the prison nor does it present the far reaching effects these cuts will have - especially when you couple them with the Juvenile Justice and other recent public safety cuts. (See previous post)
What were these legislators thinking?

Only 7 of the 79 treatment programs that were in  prisons all around the state, remain . 

Over $7 million was cut from the prison substance abuse budget for the rest of this fiscal year (its only 11 million for the entire year!) - and next year the legislature has earmarked a $10 + million cut - ie - there are no plans to get these programs back.

Did the legislators consider how many inmates who needed, but didn't get, drug treatment are going to be released back into the community each year?  That's 70-80% of the 26,000 + that get out each year. 

If they haven't started treatment in prison - they are not likely to look for it when they get out.  

All the programs in Florida prisons took big cuts (education, vocational training, recreation...)  

Florida is  jettisoning any notion of rehabilitation in the prison system and is returning to the lock 'em up mentality of 50 years ago.

Prisons become much more dangerous places when the inmates are not presented opportunities to change their lives - they revert to becoming training grounds for slicker more violent criminal behavior. They become more dangerous places to work, and they ultimately cost society more.  ($1 spent for treatment = saves $7 down the road)

And here's the kicker.  If the state is not providing drug treatment, the upcoming ballot initiative (giving most non-violent offenders the "right to treatment" instead of prison), will - and this is something the Governor and his drug czar say they do not want.  
Cutting treatment in prisons and in the community is so shortsighted it's just beyond belief - it's like saying to the people of Florida "we don't care about your safety and we don't care about your children ... just lock 'em up and forget about them."  
But addiction is an equal opportunity illness, it can wreck any family, any life in a very short time.  Our legislators should know better.  
...Quixote, 1/12/02

Legislature cuts 80% of Correction's in-prison drug treatment.

Florida Department of Corrections has been an innovative leader in the field of prison drug treatment for almost 20 years.  No longer. 
Last year DOC had over 17,000 inmates participate in drug treatment programs.   Last week  DOC notified its substance abuse treatment providers that most of their in-prison programs would be closing effective January 1, 2002.
The dismantling of these prison programs all around the state that took so long to develop will not easily be put back together. 
We're not even talking about state jobs here, these programs were all contracted to the private sector.  
Last year over 26,000 inmates were released back to the community -  It is estimated that 70-80% needed substance abuse treatment. 
This short sighted action by the legislature will wind up costing Floridians much more than the $7 million saved by this cut. 
Our supposedly "fiscally conservative" legislators are apparently unaware that research has demonstrated  for many years now, that for very $1 spent on drug and alcohol treatment, $7 is saved in social costs and healthcare dollars.  
The personal, human costs of drug addiction and criminal activity are of course incalculable - and as always the people of Florida will wind up holding the bag.
.... Quixote, 12/24/01

Prisons director plans cuts in staffing

TALLAHASSEE - Florida's prison chief in the coming year wants to consolidate 3,000 of the state's worst inmates in three prisons, expand a women's prison in Marion County, while at the same time eliminating more than 800 jobs. 9/15/01 by GARY FINEOUT
http://www.gainesvillesun.com/articles/2001-09-15i.shtml
20

Michael Hallett, professor of criminal justice at the University of North Florida - 

Evidence that states are turning away from prison privatization includes the closure of a private prison in Youngstown, Ohio in July, and California's decision this year to offer drug offenders treatment instead of jail time, said Michael Hallett, an expert on privatization. "The privatization industry is a house that the drug war built," said Hallett, a professor of criminal justice at the University of North Florida. "Without the drug war, the industry is going to be in decline. We're seeing the beginnings of that."

States' fondness for private prisons has turned out to be a fad, not a long-term trend, said Ira Robbins, professor of criminal law at American University's Washington College of Law.

"It's now taken about 20 years to realize what the private companies promised has not come to fruition, and that a lot of the early criticisms are being proved true in terms of cost and accountability," Robbins said.

An analysis of prison privatization published earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance found that rather than the projected 20 percent savings, the average savings from privatization was only about 1 percent. Most of that was achieved through lower labor costs. The study found private facilities' small savings result from having staffing levels about 15 percent lower than in public facilities.

Judy Greene, a criminal-justice researcher with the Open Society Institute of the Soros Foundation, said states are shying away from privatization because of contract under-performance.

Full article: http://stateline.org/story.cfm?storyid=142545 
.... JH, 8/25 

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Florida is becoming a penal colony

Florida has the potential to become a giant penal colony, with taxpayers funding the exorbitant costs and industries getting the tax breaks. Sadly, it seems our laws are developing to ensure public safety, which becomes the measure of our humanity rather than our ability to reach citizens before they get too far down the road.
...JACOB LERNER,11/23

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