The agency that conducts inspections of Florida jails suspended on-site inspections in July, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. Jails statewide were asked instead to send a memo to the committee affirming their own continued compliance with the standards.
The Florida Department of Corrections has long been shown that it needs independent oversight, with two recent examples further making the case.
A federal report released in December found that FDC has failed to protect inmates at Floridaâs largest womenâs prison from sexual abuse by the staff there for more than a decade. Instead of acknowledging the need to do more to stop abuse at Lowell Correctional Institution near Ocala, FDC has pushed back against the reportâs findings.
The investigation also revealed a pattern in which prisoners who reported abuse faced retaliation. The same pattern has been shown in a continuing legal battle over the excessive use of solitary confinement in Florida prisons.
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Following abuses, it s clear: Florida s prisons need better oversight
The Gainesville Sun Editorial Board
The Florida Department of Corrections has long been shown that it needs independent oversight, with two recent examples further making the case.
A federal report released in December found that prison officials failed to protect inmates at Florida’s largest women’s prison from sexual abuse by the staff there for more than a decade. Instead of acknowledging the need to do more to stop abuse at Lowell Correctional Institution near Ocala, The Department of Corrections has pushed back against the report’s findings.
The investigation also revealed a pattern in which prisoners who reported abuse faced retaliation. The same pattern has been shown in a continuing legal battle over the excessive use of solitary confinement in Florida prisons.