Too Many In Prison Too Long

If Gov. Rick Scott and Florida legislative leaders would get over their obsession with privatizing prisons, perhaps they might focus on the real cause of Florida's runaway correction spending.

This state locks too many people up for too long.

A succession of "get tough on crime" mandatory minimum sentencing laws are primarily responsible for a state incarceration rate that is 26 percent higher than the national average.

An Associated Press report this month cited the case of a man serving a mandatory five-year prison sentence for possession of a handful of Lortab tablets, "prescription-only pills containing a small amount of a controlled substance but mostly made up of the same ingredient found in Tylenol and similar over-the-counter painkillers."

"Florida's prison system, which has about 102,000 inmates, grew more than 11-fold from 1970 through 2009, while the state's population increased just under three times," The AP reported. "Florida also has done away with parole and requires inmates to serve a minimum of 85 percent of their sentences, which have kept inmates behind bars longer."

CRIME DOWN, COST UP

Thus, Florida's corrections spending continues to escalate even as crime rates decline.

Citing data from "Right on Crime," a prison reform group that advocates doing away with mandatory minimum sentences and relying more on drug courts and substance abuse treatment for offenders, The AP report continued, "If Florida imprisoned people at the same rate it did in 1972-1973 the state would have only 23,848 inmates and be spending $446 million a year on prisons instead of $2.4 billion."


Privatizing prisons simply injects a profit motive into what Alison DeFoor, vice chair of the Center for Smart Justice, in Tallahassee, already calls Florida's "prison-industrial complex."

Real correction reform would involve locking up fewer people, not creating new profit opportunities for the private sector at taxpayers' expense.

State senator seeks ban on shackling pregnant inmates

Tallahassee, Florida - Opponents of restraining pregnant inmates say an anti-shackling movement is growing across the country and they want Florida to get on board.

State Sen. Arthenia Joyner calls the practice of shackling pregnant inmates demeaning and dangerous. The state currently does not have a law against restraints for pregnant women and Joyner wants one on the books.

She has filed a bill banning all correctional facilities, both state and county, from restraining women in labor or recovery, except in rare cases.

"It's demeaning. It's unnecessary. It can cause harm to the prisoner and to the fetus and it's important that we treat people, especially women who are pregnant, with humanity and dignity."

Policies on restraining pregnant inmates vary around Florida. A state policy prohibits restraints on pregnant women in labor, but allows restraints at all other times during a pregnancy and in recovery.

Some county jails in Florida have allowed restraints during labor.

Joyner says she understands the need for security, but she wants a law to spell out the rules for using restraints on pregnant women.

"It's necessary to put it in the law. We don't want a policy by the Department of Corrections because policies come and go at the whim and caprice of whoever is leading the department."

Joyner says restricting or banning restraints for pregnant inmates is supported by the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and nurse associations.

"They say this is unnecessary and they have joined in this effort across the country to make sure that states do not shackle pregnant women."

Currently more than a dozen states have adopted laws restricting or banning the practice of shackling pregnant inmates.

Sen. Joyner's bill would also create strict rules for restraining women in the third trimester of pregnancy. It would include a ban on shackles and mandate that wrist restraints be placed in front of a pregnant inmate so she could protect herself if she fell forward.

This is the second time Joyner has filed the bill in the Florida Legislature. It passed in the Senate on a unanimous vote in the spring legislative session, but died in the House.