{"id":2498,"date":"2018-01-12T14:10:20","date_gmt":"2018-01-12T14:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rashidmod.com\/?p=2498"},"modified":"2018-09-09T01:33:56","modified_gmt":"2018-09-09T01:33:56","slug":"florida-prisoners-are-laying-it-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/?p=2498","title":{"rendered":"Florida Prisoners Are Laying It Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rashid-2013-self-portrait1\"<\/a><\/span>During early 2018 prisoners across Florida are gonna \u201claydown\u201d in nonviolent protest of the intolerable conditions in Florida\u2019s prisons.<\/p>\n

The objectionable conditions being protested include unpaid slave labor, compounded by outright price-gouging in the system\u2019s commissary and package services, and the gain-time scam that replaced parole, which, coupled with extreme sentencing, has created overcrowding and inhumane conditions.<\/p>\n

The \u201claydown\u201d will consist of a prisoner work stoppage and their refusal to participate in any state-sanctioned or related activities, and is planned to last for several weeks, or perhaps indefinitely, until their concerns are addressed.<\/p>\n

It is imperative that the public be aware of the prisoners\u2019 need for resolutions and of their abuses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Culture of Abuse, Corruption and Inhumane Conditions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Having been confined in the Florida Department of Corruption (FDOC) for six months at the time of writing this, and being able to contrast conditions here with those in other prison systems (Florida\u2019s is my fourth state prison system in six years), I can personally attest that conditions here are among the worst I\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n

In fact, the past four months have passed without me writing any articles, and during that time I have fallen behind in my own legal pursuits because I\u2019ve been overwhelmed trying to help others\u2019 efforts and needs to counter and challenge the extreme levels of abuse occurring constantly around me here at Florida State Prison (FSP).<\/p>\n

On a literal daily basis prisoners are gassed, tortured and\/or brutally beaten by guards with the full complicity of medical and mental health staff.\u00a0 As part of this culture of abuse, grievance officials routinely trash prisoners\u2019 attempts to grieve their mistreatment.\u00a0 This to eliminate any records of the abuses and to frustrate any potential attempts at litigation.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

These and attendant conditions illustrate the inhumane and unjust outrages that Florida prisoners are protesting.<\/p>\n

Take for example that FDOC prisoners are forced to work without pay.\u00a0 Only one job pays a token wage (namely the prison commissary), which, at $50 a month, is lower than 3rd world sweatshop rates.<\/p>\n

The enforced slave labor in the FDOC is a literal continuation of the old antebellum slave system, selectively enforced against people of color and the poor and based upon the 13th Amendment which only modified slavery at the end of the Civil War in 1865, to permit enslavement of those convicted of crimes.\u00a0 It was under this reformed slavery that Blacks were targeted for re-enslavement and the FDOC was established three years later in 1868 which the FDOC proudly boasts on its seal.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Coupled with Florida prisoners receiving no wages, they must purchase basic hygiene supplies, seasonal clothing, shoes and supplemental foods and beverages from a grossly overpriced commissary and package system, which weighs heavily on their loved ones.\u00a0 Otherwise prisoners must do without.<\/p>\n

Again, by contrasting the FDOC with other prison systems that I\u2019ve been recently confined to, I can readily illustrate and attest to this pricing scam.\u00a0 In fact, those on the outside can compare the prices between FDOC\u2019s packaging system with that in Texas, by visiting access.com<\/a> and FloridaPackages.com<\/a> for Florida prices and going to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice\u2019s (sic!) website and going to Ecommdirect.com<\/a> for Texas prices.<\/p>\n

FDOC prices are literally double or more the prices of the same or similar items sold to Texas prisoners.\u00a0 Here are some random examples comparing the 2017 prices of the same or similar items sold to FDOC versus TDCJ prisoners:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A Speed Stick deodorant is $2.50 (TX); while a generic Oraline Secure roll-on deodorant is $4.00 (FL);<\/li>\n
  2. One AA battery is $.27 (TX); a pack of two AA batteries is $3.02 (FL);<\/li>\n
  3. A roll of toilet paper is $.50 (TX); $1.00 (FL);<\/li>\n
  4. Ten letter size envelopes are $.30 (TX); $.80 (FL);<\/li>\n
  5. Multivitamins\u2014100 count\u2014are $2.30 (TX); $7.21 (FL);<\/li>\n
  6. A 16.9 ounce bottle of water is $.15 (TX); $.99 (FL);<\/li>\n
  7. A 3.5 ounce pouch of mackerel fillets is $.85 (TX); $1.59 (FL);<\/li>\n
  8. A 4 ounce bag of coffee is $.85 and $1.90 (TX); $6.03 (FL);<\/li>\n
  9. One Top Ramen soup is $.30 (TX); $.70 (FL);<\/li>\n
  10. Ten individual packs of oatmeal are $1.50 (TX); $5.30 (FL);<\/li>\n
  11. A bottle of nasal spray is $1.85 (TX); $8.75 (FL), and so on.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Again, these are only random samples showing the comparative overpricing of items sold to FDOC prisoners.\u00a0 It should also be kept in mind that the quality of goods sold by prison vendors are typically inferior to those sold to the general public.<\/p>\n

    Forced to work without pay and to purchase goods at usurious prices, while most come from poor communities, prisoners are especially vulnerable to such pricing scams, and most obviously cannot afford to purchase basic necessities, supplement the inadequate prison meals and nutrition, and acquire the few allowed amenities at the prices set by the FDOC.<\/p>\n

    This is particularly problematic where, as the Florida media has exposed, the FDOC has been caught denying its prisoners such basic necessities as toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, etc. and have issued and forced them to wear clothes that are threadbare and literally shredded.\u00a0 They are also made to live in housing units that are falling apart around them.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

    And while prison officials love to promote their function to be that of \u201crehabilitating\u201d those they confine so that they might become productive members of society upon release, nothing be further from the truth. Slavery does not teach one work ethic nor how to be free.<\/p>\n

    With little to no outside support, most prisoners are forced<\/strong> to hustle and scheme as a means of acquiring necessities and amenities.\u00a0 Forcing people to work without pay while denying them needed and desired things, only teaches them to becomes thieves, predators and swindlers.\u00a0 So officials are actually teaching criminality.\u00a0 Which is only reinforced by the culture of corruption that pervades the FDOC, which is beyond the pale.<\/p>\n

    Some of that corruption began to come out in the media during and after 2014 when outside protests and litigation exposed patterns of FDOC prisoners being killed by officials and covered up at the highest administrative and investigative levels.\u00a0 Particularly the murder of a mentally ill prisoner, Darren Rainey, in 2012 by guards scalding him to death in a rigged shower at Dade Correctional Institution which was swept under the rug until exposed in 2014.<\/p>\n

    The public exposure of this incident and the attempts to cover it up opened a can of worms, leading to the exposure of numerous other killings, routine malicious beatings and gassings of prisoners by guards, systemic denials of mental health care, and more, as a deeply entrenched statewide culture (which continues).[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

    Also exposed was a system of retaliations, firings and harassments against investigators and other staff who tried to report or expose such abuses, engineered at highest levels of power in the FDOC.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

    This abusive environment has been made all the worse by such staffing problems as frequent guard turnovers, low pay, chronic understaffing, and a generally inadequately trained and unprofessional staff body.<\/p>\n

    These are among the many inhumane and intolerable conditions and abuses that FDOC prisoners suffer every day with no voice or help, and which they are protesting for relief from.\u00a0 They need and deserve all possible support.<\/p>\n

    Dare to struggle, dare to win!
    \nAll Power to the people!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Notes<\/h3>\n

    [1]<\/a> Under federal law prisoners must exhaust any existing prison grievance procedures before filing suit.\u00a0 See 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 1997e(a).\u00a0 This requirement is however invalidated when officials obstruct a prisoner\u2019s grievances.\u00a0 Turner v. Burnside<\/em>, 541 F. 3d 1077, 1083\u201484 (11th cir. 2008).<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> See, Jessica Lipscomb, \u201cUnpaid Florida Prisoners Forced to Clean Up After Hurricane Irma,\u201d The New Times<\/em>, Sept. 28, 2017.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> Mary Ellen Klas, \u201cFlorida Prisons Have Toilet Paper, But They\u2019re Not Supplying it to Some Inmates,\u201d Miami Herald<\/em>, July 19, 2017; Paula Dockery, \u201cInspector General Fiasco Adds to Prison Woes,\u201d Florida Today<\/em>, May 9, 2015.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> A series of many , many reports covering these issues have come out in the Miami Herald<\/em> from 2014 to present, many written by journalists Julie K. Brown and Mary Ellen Klas. These reports are too numerous to list here but can be reviewed online by interested readers.<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> Julie K. Brown, \u201cTop Cop Accused of Thwarting Investigations Quits Florida Prison System,\u201d Miami Herald<\/em>, December 21, 2016; Mary Ellen Klas and Julie K. Brown, \u201cNew Prison Policy Punishes Investigators Who Speak Out,\u201d Miami Herald<\/em>, February 5, 2015, Mary Ellen Klas, \u201cFlorida Prison Inspectors Detail Alleged Interference in Their Investigations,\u201d Miami Herald<\/em>, June 1, 2016<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    During early 2018 prisoners across Florida are gonna \u201claydown\u201d in nonviolent protest of the intolerable conditions in Florida\u2019s prisons. The objectionable conditions being protested include unpaid slave labor, compounded by outright price-gouging in the system\u2019s commissary and package services, and the gain-time scam that replaced parole, which, coupled with extreme …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[20,6],"class_list":["post-2498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-florida-prison-conditions","tag-party-articles","has-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2498"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2537,"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498\/revisions\/2537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rashidmod.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}