tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post3113402755592223190..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: A Death a DayLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-42467123797360702162017-03-19T23:36:04.568-04:002017-03-19T23:36:04.568-04:00One of the problems with corporate prisons is the ...One of the problems with corporate prisons is the opaque nature of their operations, shielded from the public and not of the least interest to lawmakers other than potential profits. Two years ago, I wrote about a <a href="http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2015/02/a-death-day.html" rel="nofollow">prisoner virtually boiled alive by prison guards</a>. Two days ago, state investigators decided no one should be punished. I leave you to <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article139206653.html" rel="nofollow">read the article</a> and judge the quality of the investigation, with just this one pulled quote:<br><br>“… medical workers at the prison have told the <i>(Miami) Herald</i> that they were pressured to keep quiet by both their employer, a private contractor, and by corrections officers who threatened to leave them unprotected when dealing with unstable inmates.”Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-44010751833265039082015-02-09T19:26:38.480-05:002015-02-09T19:26:38.480-05:00But you're right, Eve. You're right.
And ...But you're right, Eve. You're right.<br /><br />And politicians have a fear that if they do the right thing, the electorate will turn against them.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-200653290509333362015-02-09T09:35:52.295-05:002015-02-09T09:35:52.295-05:00Why is it that a politician or "religious&quo...Why is it that a politician or "religious" leader can just say, "Forgive me!" and not change a @#$%@ thing and people buy into it? And vote for them? I have no idea. <br /><br />The prison system is seriously screwed up, and I think the two main reasons are fear and money. Fear - of criminals, of crime, of the "other", of being there yourself and Money - we can make a fortune off these guys! Slave labor (.25 cents an hour, folks), cut costs everywhere... No, I'll just go off into another rant. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-10120322688971384742015-02-09T03:50:45.946-05:002015-02-09T03:50:45.946-05:00Absolutely, Anon. The numbers appear to reveal• 33...Absolutely, Anon. The numbers appear to reveal<br>• 335 men<br>• 11 women<br>I don’t have figures about children— nobody does.<br><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_School_for_Boys" rel="nofollow">The Dozier School for Boys</a> in Marianna, Florida, the largest juvenile reform institution in the United States, must have been nightmarish, a facility closed by Governor Charlie Crist after investigations by Gerald Bailey and federal authorities. Children with offenses as minor as trespassing and truancy were raped, tortured and killed by guards. Bodies were buried in deliberately unmarked and unrecorded graves. Florida state attorneys over the years declined to file charges.<br><br>Using ground penetrating radar, 50-some unmarked graves were found in one ad hoc burial spot, but the state Corrections Board blocked UCF forensic specials from searching for other cemeteries, later overturned by a judge. One or more burial grounds and at least 100 more bodies have yet to be located.<br><br>Jan, I agree. Money is so powerful in the votes that can be bought. Money and casual ignorance allows corruption to flourish.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-70499006732419603142015-02-08T19:21:41.335-05:002015-02-08T19:21:41.335-05:00Florida like Texas has such bad people in governme...Florida like Texas has such bad people in government that it's sickening. Yet people keep voting because 1.Money talks loud. 2. Telling right-wing evangelicals, I'm sorry please forgive me. 3. A large group of voters who never know what's going on except what they or someone they know listens to and believes FOX NEWS. But the major thing we have to fight is the money...the DARK MONEY that's buying elections, Yes, this is just my opinion, but I have to say it. Jan Grapehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13323910083703514953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-66502165326154712412015-02-08T19:14:45.706-05:002015-02-08T19:14:45.706-05:00You mention men. Have women died in the prison sys...You mention men. Have women died in the prison system? How many?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-6074083570411540642015-02-08T18:48:16.406-05:002015-02-08T18:48:16.406-05:00ABA, the good thing is that your country is trying...ABA, the good thing is that your country is trying. Somehow the US has become a police state when we weren't paying attention.<br /><br />By the way, thanks to Sharon for input for this article.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-80284821028158982982015-02-08T18:30:58.556-05:002015-02-08T18:30:58.556-05:00This is frightening in the extreme. The helplessne...This is frightening in the extreme. The helplessness and injustice, with no cause for redress, must be enough to make many worse than before their incarceration.<br /><br />Prisons conditions under our previous government were unspeakable, and, sadly, are not much better now, though reporting on the problems is more transparent and no longer a crime.A Broad Abroadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-77422816713224382932015-02-08T17:11:13.295-05:002015-02-08T17:11:13.295-05:00Anon, I’ve thought prison work might attract some ...Anon, I’ve thought prison work might attract some sadists, those who might look at beatings and abuse as a perq. But to be fair, I’ve known two people, both women, who are caring individuals who worked in the prison system. One was a jailer for whom it was a less-than-ideal a job, but she was a kind person. The other had advanced degrees, one in psychiatry and I think the other major was social work. She was exceptionally compassionate and emotionally involved in her work, which she knew was a mistake, but she couldn’t help it. So while a career in corrections might attract sadists, it also attracts the compassionate and others who simply need work.<br /><br />One of the articles I read while preparing this report mentioned a prison saying: “Come for vacation, leave on probation.”Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-20077827627010700612015-02-08T16:02:15.914-05:002015-02-08T16:02:15.914-05:00So a short prison term in Florida could be a death...So a short prison term in Florida could be a death sentence?<br /><br />I have to think that the sadistic could be drawn to a career as a "correctional officer".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78540292208109512052015-02-08T15:23:09.609-05:002015-02-08T15:23:09.609-05:00Melodie, I don’t want to be an inverse Chamber of ...Melodie, I don’t want to be an inverse Chamber of Commerce of the Southeast Territories (or 11th province), but from what I gather, the terror shown in movies and television might seriously understate the problems or at least show an older view when there was some oversight. Part of the issue with Commissioner Bailey is the the governor is responsible for prison oversight, a responsibility he’s abdicated, allowing the three prison corporations operate as they wish.<br /><br />Eve, you’re my heroine. You actually get into prisons, you see the problems, and you try to mentally cope with it all. It must be frustrating dealing with an unseeing, uncaring public.<br /><br />One of the problems here in Florida is that suicide, forced or otherwise, might not be the major cause of death among prisoners– it may well be murder. For example, the man who was steamed to death (scalded brutally with water 20-30°F (11-16°C) below boiling), was listed as a heart attack. His skin had actually peeled off and stuck to the floor. The death of the prisoner who reported guards’ sexual abuse and death threats and was poisoned was apparently listed as ‘gastro’. And the children who died at the boy’s farm weren’t listed at all.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-33473264778050085892015-02-08T14:52:46.983-05:002015-02-08T14:52:46.983-05:00Louis, from the fraud Scott engineered, he should ...Louis, from the fraud Scott engineered, he should be in jail. Scott has a way of not answering questions– one of the links has an example of Scott blithely slipping past pointed questions about the sacking of Bailey. During the HCA fraud hearings, Scott refused to answer something like 75 questions.<br /><br />When I asked a friend why she voted for Scott the first time, she said he'd reached out to evangelicals and "asked forgiveness." To me, if someone wants forgiveness, they should change their behavior.<br /><br />Claire, it's kind of a willing blindness. Most people don't want to know what goes on. As long as they can play video games and watch their favorite TV shows, go shopping and update facebook, they're happy and willing to look the other way. Besides, the prisoners probably deserve it, don't they? If we're a great country, we need to grapple with unpleasant issues, but admitting problems exist seems impossible for some.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-79663914179333204892015-02-08T14:00:18.121-05:002015-02-08T14:00:18.121-05:00Corruption is almost impossible to stop. Almost -...Corruption is almost impossible to stop. Almost - it can be done - but it takes long, hard, grinding work on top of courage and risk on the part of those who are trying to stop it. And there's way too much of it. <br /><br />The prison system gets a pass almost everywhere because - they're criminals! They're scum! They deserve it! Until, of course, it's someone you know and then you discover how corrupt it all is. From the telephone calls ($3.00 a minute, minimum, prepaid on a credit card, thank you, to a private corporation that has nothing to do with the jail, cough it up right now), to the food (give them the minimum calories required by law a day, all starch and meat products, nothing fresh, and when they get sick - diabetes is rampant in prisons - start whittling their fingers and toes off rather than a better diet and proper meds because the money for the prison meals is going somewhere else), to the relatively high death rate in almost every state (and it's always suicide). <br /><br />Good article, Leigh. Sorry it has to be said. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-53121576681563867842015-02-08T12:10:08.565-05:002015-02-08T12:10:08.565-05:00Wow. Yet another thing I didn't know about th...Wow. Yet another thing I didn't know about the U.S. - how the prison system is allowed to operate. Some of the shows on television - which seem so far fetched to me - may actually make sense.Melodie Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870938103759179132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-75577019958911280262015-02-08T09:59:10.315-05:002015-02-08T09:59:10.315-05:00Tallahassee and Washington need to read this artic...Tallahassee and Washington need to read this article, Leigh. Eye opening is an understatement. How did our country become so corrupt and downright evil? Why isn't there more investigative reporting like this? How does one bypass Scott's watch dogs and make this article viral? Thank you for your courage and integrity.Apparently,in government, those qualities have been snuffed out.C.S.Poulsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16543815556918004433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-30318689412007323212015-02-08T09:13:10.597-05:002015-02-08T09:13:10.597-05:00Why isn't Scott an inmate in one of Florida...Why isn't Scott an inmate in one of Florida's prisons? Your article certainly indicates there is plenty of evidence that he engaged in illegal activities.Louis A. Willishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16563842429688123421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-79395345647107931222015-02-08T07:45:37.935-05:002015-02-08T07:45:37.935-05:00Not to mention the summer heat and humidity, Julia...Not to mention the summer heat and humidity, Julia!<br /><br />Usually when I write about Florida, I use a more humorous, ironic touch about Florida madness, but sometimes you just got to say what you got to say.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-85706056225336656132015-02-08T07:38:43.096-05:002015-02-08T07:38:43.096-05:00Wow. Deserves wider distribution . . . I've ne...Wow. Deserves wider distribution . . . I've never like anything about Florida anyway, now I know I'll never go back!!!Julianoreply@blogger.com