FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

ers ectives
ISSN# 1091·8094

VOLUME 9. ISSUE 6

FDOC Probation Officer
Sex Scandal
by Teresa Bums Posey

t

The year was 1999 or 2000, the 29-year-old
woman said she doesn't remember exactly. But she said
she'll never forget the day he came to the club where she
worked as a dancer. "He sai~ 'You look good in that
dress. Want to hang out?,'? she reports he asked her.
When reluctantly she agreed, he told her to get a bottle of
champagne and come to his house when her shift ended.
Once she got there he told her in no uncertain terms, "I
hold your life in my hands. 1 could put you in prison,"
and then asked if she understood.
Frightened, she
understood all too well. He then told her, "Let's take it to
the bedroom." She tearfully explained later, "I felt like I
had to go along with it." Thus,. she became a victim of
another one of the 'predators within the Florida corrections
system, in this case a probation officer employed by the
Florida Department ofCorrections (FDOC).
Chasity Owens is her name. She lives in the New
Port Richey, Florida, area. At the time she was coerced
into providing sexual favors to Probation Officer Frank
Cochran she was on probation for a minor offense, she
told police investigators earlier this year. Her story
supported that of several other women' who were under
Cochran's supervision and who came forward once

~

lli:mJ

NOV/DEC 2003

Cochran's decade of victimizing female probationers
ended in May 2003 with his arrest.
Owens was obviously relieved to be able to teU
her story after remaining silent about Cochran for so long.
. She detailed to police how Cochran essentially forced her
by th.i-eats of imprisonment into complying to his wishes.
In her case she said he never had intercourse with her, he
just wanted to rub baby oil over her nude body, but
although not going all the way, "He did sexually assault
me," Owens said. When asked why she never reported his
abuse when it happened, she said she did go to another
probation Dfficer for protection and tried to tell hini what
had happened. He didn't want to hear it, she said.
"You're a dancer and it's his word against yours... if you
don't change your story, I'll take you to jail myself," she
said she was told.
Realizing the corruption was
widespread at that point she resolved to just keep quiet
about it, she didn't want to go to prison on reports
fabricated by Cochran' or his fellow FDOC probation
officers.'
Cochran, 41, no doubt thought he had a good
thing going on for a long time. For 16 years he had
worked as a probation officer with the Department of
Corrections, immersed in a culture of corruption, abuse of
offenders and confident of the cloak of protective silence
that FDOC employees are inculcated with. Circumventing
whistle-blower laws, the FDOC has a policy that prohibits
its employees from going. public with wrongdoing in the

More Prisons, Less Rehabilitation
Visitation Limitations Upheld
Post Conviction Comer
Notable Cases
Florida Prisoner's Death in Vermont
Flashback: DOC Yesteryear

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FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL
. . . PERSPECTIVES
P.O. BOX 660-387
(:IIl: J.tJ(YI'A. 1.'1. :S-J7U6

.Publishing Division of:
FLORIDA PRISONERS' LEGAL AID
ORGANIZATION, INC.
A SOl lei III Non-profil Orl!"nil.,lion
I'n~ 140'7rS68.()200
Email: fplp@j!ol «'m
Websile: ..-ww fuljloorg

FPLAO DIRECTORS
Teresa Bums Posey
Bob Posey, CLA
David W. Bauer, Esq.
Loren D. Rhoton, Esq.
Oscar A. Hanson. CLA
Linda E. Hanson

FPLPSTAFF
Publisher
Editor
Associate Editor
Research '
Administrative Assistant

Teresa Bums Posey
Bob Posey
Oscar A. Hanson
Sherri Johnson
Michelle Krakowski

ADVISORY BOARD
William Von Poyck
Philip Basley
John Hudson
Michael Uunbrix
Teny Vaul!hn
Susan MlIIIl\inS
Enrique DillZ

Gene Salser .
Mark Shefwood
Elizabeth Green

~yidRcuIlCl'

Linda Gonieb
AnthCllY Stuan

FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL I'ERSI'L:CTlVES IFPI.P) Is published up 10 six limes a
year by Florida Prisoners' Leila! Atd Organizaliol\, IlIc.• P.O Box 660·387. Chuluola.
FL 32766
FPLP is a non.profil pubhcatlon l'lI:using OIllhe FIOIida pnson alld criminal j<nlice
syslems. FPI.P plOVideS a ,chick 1." IICWS. infonualioll, aud resources aOeclillg
prisoners.lheir families.lhcll\h ..·,cd olles and Ihe ilelleral pubhc of Florida.
RedUClicln of crime and reculll OSIlI. mainlenallce of family lies. civil righls, improvill(t
conditions of confinement. prolllollllil skilled coun aCl'CSS for prisoners. :md prmnoling
accolllllabilill' nfprison officials ;\11:;\11 issues FPl!' is <kSlgll~d 10 address
I'Pll"s non·allomey \,olllnl..:r slall ~al\llOI re$)!<llld 10 1~'111~SlS for I~gal lIdvice Dlle
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a"d a copy of Ihe puhh",llIln m \\ lu,h Ihe malerial •• pllblished Ii pro, Idcd 10 the FI'I.P
publisher.
TItis publicalioll is nol lOellnllo I..: ,t substitule for le~1 or olher profession.l ad>!ce.
Tht malenal in FPlP should nOli", 'elied on as .ulhoril.tive and may nol conlain
suffieient informalion 10 de.l ..-ilh , lell3l problem,
FPLP is alllolllalically senl 10.11 IIl<llIbers of FPLAO. Illc. as a membership benefi..
Membership dnes for FPlAO. hI' uperate yearly and .re S9 for prisoners; 51 S for
falllil)' membersll",hvidn"ls. SJO r:·, ,,"urne)'s: and S60 fur ,,~cllcies. Iihraries. "lid
illS1iluliollS. 1'4.1111)' members or I"'cd olles ofprisollers who are unable 10 affOld Ihe
hasic membership dues 1M)' reee" " membership for an)' size donalionlhey can .ITord
Prisoners m.y pay membership <Illes with new unllsed poslase Slmnps. Prisoners on '
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"hu::h \\.11 be gli.t1Ih.,:d ol.' linalu,:c:oo 1.~llllIl

Perspectives . , . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

depa~~t. .' f~!I~~ .t~, ~~p,I~., ~~.l}~~ .• ~~.~ediate
tennmation of'thett'c;trltfloyment'. . '" 'r· ~',.. ", .. ,
Cochran's victimization of probationers began
falling apart in·. March 2003. when another woman on
probation, Melinda Starnes, minutes after being booked
into the Pasco County Jail asked for paper and pen and
swore out an affid!lvit accusing. Cocbran, her probation
officer, of forcing her to have an extended sexual
relationship with him, among other things. Her story,
detailed with names, dates and witnesses, painted a
disturbing. picture of the Vulnerability of female offenders
to the predators in the criminal justice system and expOsed
how that system protects its own.
Starnes, 30, told sheriff investigators how
Cochran initially coerced her into having sex with him.
He made it clear he could have her arrested at anytime, for
anything he wished to make up, and have her probation
violated and put her in jail or prison. After the fll'St time
she said she allowed it to continue because she was afraid
he would violate her probation, plus, he let her ~rink
alcohD~ use drugs, ignored her house arrest" and
eventually moved her into his house as his "girlfriend."
Starnes allegations forced the Sheriff's Office to
investigate Cochran and, with a' cover-up implausible at
that point, a few days later the FDOC forced Cochran to
resign. Then in May, with more women probationers
coming forward to tell their stories, state prosecutors tiled
two felony charges against Cochran, one for using his
position of authority to coerce sex from Starnes, and one
for official misconduct for allegedly destroying records to
protect Starnes.
So far four other women, including Chasity
Owens, have broke their silence about their similar
experiences with Cochran and his fellow FDOC
employees. One of the women, Maricela Garcia, .. said
Cochran told her Qn his first visit as her probation officer
that "he could make things easy on me, or harder." She
told investigators, "He told me, flat out, he could get away
with anything. He was so intimidating." Once he asked
her to come to' his house, she. said: Another time he asked
her to rub suntan lotion on him. ."Of course, I. was
disgusted. I said, 'No, of course not,'" she told the police.
When asked why she hadn't reported Cochran's actions,
she said she did, to the New Port Richey FDOC probation
office, but, "They laughcdat me:' she said. Two of the
other women probationers said.they also had attempted to
lodge complaints about Cochran with the FDOC but were
met with humor and then, hostility when they tried to
persist.· Starnes said she
how they felt.
Although prosecuto(S believed Starnes enough to
charge Cochran, she ran into a stonewall when she
claimed that. the corrup.tiC?n extended. to. the She,riff's
department. .'
,
. .
Starnes said that in Nov. 2002, after she moved in
oJ " " ,

knew

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Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

MICHAEL V. GIORDANO
AGGRESSIVE POST-CONVICTION REPRESENTATION
The Law Offices of Michael V.Giordano
412 E. Madison Street, Ste. 824
Tampa, Florida 33602
. (813) 228-0070

A STATEWIDE practice specializing in Post-Conviction
·Reliefon both the State and Federal levels:

**EXECUTIVE 'CLE~NCY**
**PAROLE**
**DIRECT APPEALS**
··HABEAS CORPUS··
··POST-CONVICTION RELIEF**
*INEFFECTIVE COUNSEL
*WITHDRAWAL OF PLEA
*ILLEGAL SENTENCES
~AcTUALINNOCENCE

*I.N.S. DEPORTATION
I am a fonner Assistant State Attorney '(Felony Division Chief), Assistant Public Defender (Lead Trial Attorney), and member of the
faculty at the University of Florida College of Law. I have devoted over 25 years to the teaching and practice of criminal defense law.
and I am an author of a 1,250 page text 'on federal practice in the Eleventh Circuit. The major thrust of my practice has been postconviction oriented. There is approximately 70 years of combined experience in my office. I do not believe you can find more
experienced representation in the State of Florida or elsewhere.

.

The hirins or I Ilwyu is an imponw decision Iha1 should not be based IOleIy on adwrti_II, Beran: you clccicle. uk us 10 ICIld you fico wrilten information Iboul OUt qUllilications.
,

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with Cochran, .he took her to a hot tub party at· a sheriff
deputy's hou~. He introduced her to the ~eputy.as "my
case," to which the deputy relied, "That's cool with me,"
and then proceeded to {Oil a marijuana joint. "We all got
high," Starnes recalled.
.
A spokesman for the Sheriff's department,
however, Jon Powers, denied Starnes implication of the
named deputy, he called that part of her story "ridiculous".
When a reporter approached the deputy for a statement, he
initiated an internal investigation. against himself and
passed a drug test, clearing himself according to the
Sheriff's department. Investigators admitted Starnes did
visit the deputy's house with Cochran, but aren't
convinced the deputy knew StarneS was under Cochran's
supervision.
The FDOC reluctantly admitted that other
probation officers knew of Cochran's forbidden
relationship with Starnes and had laughed at or threatened
others who tried to complain about him but failed to
report the "inappropriate behavior". But, the department
refused to comment on what, if any, action would be taken
to discipline the employees. One ofthem has also retired.
Although some records abou~ Cochran's past
abuses have been destroyed, according to the FDOC,
enough remained to .suggest that the department knew of
and turned a blind eye to Cochran's depredations for
years. In 1994 Cochran was cleared.by an internal FDOC
investigation for "inappropriately touching" a probationer.
The details of that case, however, were destroyed, claims
an FDOC spokesperson. In 1996 Cochran was again
cleared by an internal FDOC investigation of having a
personal relationship with a female probationer. In I ~8
Cochran was suspended for five days. for destroymg
incriminating evidence - he. flushed marijuana down a
toilet. And in 200 I he was again suspended for fIVe days
for failing to supervise a probationer who later .was
arrested for attempted murder and aggravated child abuse
of a IS-month-old boy. Yet, these' warning signs were
deeply buried and ignored..
According to Cochran's routine job performance
reports, prepared annually by his supervisors, he was an
outstanding probation officer. No doubt, Cochran was
encouraged by such glowing reports to continue his extra
curriculum activities, as many FDOC employees are,
according to cri9cs of the department.
.
There's no telling how many more women have
been victimized by FDOC parole or probation officers like
Cochran, or how many would come forward if theY didn't
fear the very real threat of retaliation by the system. In.
general, the public doesn't appear to care that their dollars
fund corrections' corruption as long as someone else deals
with offenders. Nevermind when those guarding the
criminals are criminals themselves and in an ironic twist
the criminals are in turn victimized. And there's little

Perspectives

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incentive for change, no doubt, at most, Cochran may fmd
himself pn probation, supervised by friends who feh he
was 'done wrong.
'
[Source: St. Petersburg Times. 6/16/03].

A System Upside Down
by Oscar Hanson
For the most part, nearly all of the prisoners,
within the Florida Department of corrections are·
imprisoned because they have violated some agreed-on
norm that has been socially disapproved by society.
One of the most important constructed realities of
our society is what we regard as legal or illegal behavior.
Certain acts are defined as crimes because they offend the
majority of people in a given society. Many of us place
too much trust in our legal institutions. We expect our
legislators, courts, and law enforcement to regulate social
behavior in the interest of the common good. But as
statistics prove, they have failed.
.
Our sYstem is designed to ensure that offenders
who are processed through the criminal justice sYstems are
members of the lowest socioeconomic class. It is
undisputed that poor peOple are more likely to get
arrested, be formally charged with a crime, have their
cases go to tria~ get convicted, and receive harsher
sentences than more aftluent citizens.
In 2000, the governor of Illinois called for a
moratorium on executions in his state after 13 men on
death row - all of whom were poor and were represented
in their trials by public defenders - were proven innocent.
Another 33 who were sentenced to die had lawyers who
were later disbarred or suspended for incompetence. Just
prior to his departure from office, Gov. Ryan converted
each death sentence to life and granted clemency to a
fortunate few.
In Alabama, a public defender representing a 11)811
facing the death penalty had never tried a capital case and
was given no funding to hire an investigator. The man
was convicted and sentenced to death. Cases like these
have intensified the national debate over the quality of
legal· representation provided to poor people accused of
capital crimes.
In January 2003, Florida death-row prisoner
Rudolph Holton was released from prison after spending
16 years on death-row for a crime he didn't commit.
Holton's release was made possibly by a determined
attorney who went up against all odds to prove Holton's
iMocence. She was ridiculed and provided no support
from her colleagues at the Capital Collateral Regional
Counsel (CCRe) office. In fact, she was transferred to
another office in order to discourage her zealous efforts.
She was not to be denied. She petitioned the judge to
allow her to continue her fight for Holton's life and she'd
do it out of her own pocket. She. prevailed. Not long after

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Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

thafOov; Bush pitched a plan to eliminate the CCRC,. an , Further C\lts were made in substance abuse programs. So'
office paid by the, state to defend death-sentenced:
now~: many newly released inmates - mostly poor - are
significantly 'Iess' likely than their counterparts of two
prisoners in their post cOnviction appeals. (FPLP, Vol. 9,
decades ago' to fmd meaningful employment in order 'to
Iss. 4, "Death Row Appeals Office Receives Death
stay out of the .kind of trouble that leads to further
Penalty.'')
,
Such imbalances in the justice system go beyond
imprisonment. In addition, parole officers are quicker to
the 'way poor people are treated by police, judges,
revoke a newly released prisoner's parole for relatively
minor technical violations. During the fiscal year 200I attorneys, and juries. If that were the case, the situation
2002, the Florida Parole Commission revoked parole for
would be relatively easy to deal. with. Instead, they occur
87 parolees. .Of those 87 rev9C8tiOns, 79 were for mere
because the actions of poor individuals are more likely to
technical violations. For the fISCal year 2000'~ 2001 there
be criminalized - that is, officially defmed as crimes in the
first place. ,Poor people sometimes commit acts - car
were 101 P4fOle revocations, 95 of which were for
theft, burglary, assault, illegal drug use, and so on :- that . technical violations. For the two fiscal year periods only
14' parolees returned to prison with .new. offenses;. an
fit comnionly held definitions of what a crime is. As a
.result, they become "typical criminals" in 'the public eye.
astounding 174 returned with only a technical violation•
Seemingly the law is not' a mechanism that merely
Recently FPLP reported on corpo~sponsored
protects good people from bad people; it is a political
crime laws, powerful special interest, groups, working ~
instrument used by ,specific' groups to further their own
influence public policy ... helping to keep more people
political interests, often. at ,the expense of others. As
locked up longer for corporate profit. (FPLP, Vol. 8, Iss
evidenced by such groups as ALEC, the law is created for
5~ Sept/Oct 2002.)
economic . elites who control the production and
The American Legislative .Exchange Council
distribution of nuUor resources in society. While the law
(ALEC) .is not well known' to the general public and
is, of course, determined' by legislative' action, it is
doesn't try to be. But the organization, founded iit the
undisputed that legislatures are greatly influenced by these
1970s, boasts of helping to pass hundreds of state laws
powerful segments of society via lobbying groups,
every year. ALEC .and groups like them often strive to
political action committees, individual campaign
foster a belief that society's l1,Iles are under attack by
contributions, and so on.
hereti~ and that official action a~ them is. needed.
,
The aets that conflict. with the. economic or
The strategy has worked well.
political interests of the groups that have the power to
In polls taken in the Untied States during the
influence public policy are more likely to be criminalized.
1980s, and early 19905, an average of 83 perCent of
For example, MCI communications has'twice been caught
respondents felt that the justice system was not harsh
enough in dealing' with criminals. Goverrunents at ,the . overcharging families ,and friends of, Florida prisoners. .
Yet. for acts equal to predicates for racketeering. no one
state and federal level have. responded to the popular.
was prosecuted. ~MCI was told to repay the overcharged
sentiment by "getting tough on. crime."
They have
fees and ordered to pay a minimal fine. And now, MCI
cracked down·on drug offenders. and dealers, revived the
once again. faces charges of fraud imd racketeering but
death penalty, scaled back parole eligibility, lengthened
~perts agree prosecution is unlikely. (Not surprisingly ,
prison sentences, and built more prisons. By 1999, 15
'states had abolished parole options and early release
theFDOC continues to be a bedfellow with! the
communications .giant despite cries of overcharging and
programs, resulting in more prisoners ~ing 85 percent
price-gouging' by families and friends .' ' of 'Florida
or more of their sentences. ' Not surprisingly, the nation's
prisoners.) Then, there is Enron and a host of other
prison population has swelled.
.
corporate giants who ,face little prosecution for, acts
According to the Justice Department, the number
of prisoners in U.S. prisons has grown exponentially. over
defined as crime. Two .wealthy contractors pocketed $1.2
. the past several decades; In 1970 there were less than
million in government contracts for work they never. did.
They were ordered to' pay $5,000 in fines and do 200
200,000 people in state and feaeral prisons; by 1999 that
figure had swelled to almost 1.3 million, nOJ iricluding
hou~ of community service. But a Norfolk. Virginia, inan
got ten years for' stealing 87 cents; a man in California
over 600,000 more held in local jails. A recent Justice
reCeived a life sentence for stealing VHS· tapes; and a
Department report put.the 2002 state and. federal jail and
Florida man got caught trying to break into a'house, which
prison population at over 2 million people - I in. every
143 US residents., Today the US imprisons at a far greater
violated his probation for shoplifting a pair of shoes, he
rate. not only than developed Western. nations, but
was sentenced to life in prison. .
. Through the mass media, dominant groups
impoverished and authoritarian countries as well.
influence the public to look at crime, in ways that are
,
Many states, including Florida, 'hav~ sharply
curtailed education, job training, and otQer rehabilitative . favorable to them. The selective portrayal of crime plays
programs inside prison. Florida recently cut 339 positions
an important role in shaping public perceptions of the
"crime problem" and therefore its "official" definition.
that included educators, chaplains and wellriess staff.

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.When bigwig poli~icians talk about fighting crime,
when news shows report fluctuations in crime rates, or
when the Justice Department· publishes its' statistics on
crime, they are ,almost always referring to street level
crimes (illegal drug use, robbery, burglary, .murder,
assault, and .so. on) rather than corporate crimes,
government crimes, or crimes more likely to be committed
by people in influential positions.
Watch the local news and you'll be inundated
with Coverage of "crime in the streets," with scarcely a
mention of-Crim~ in the suites," downplayingsuch crimes
as briberies, . embezzlements, kickbacks, monopolistic
restraints of trade, illegal use of public fund by private
interests. occupational safety .violations and other
corporate or industrial corruption.
.
How crime is·defined and reported is largely
determined by the race and social class of the victim and
victimizer. Aftluent victims receive more press coverage
than poor victims, leaving the public with the incorrect
impression that most crime victims are from middle and
upper-class backgrounds.. Conversely, racial minority and
low-income lawbreakers. are more likely to be publicized
as criminals. than are wealthy corporate leaders,.whose
law-breaking activities may actually be more harmful to
the common good.
Such exposure creates a way of perceiving crime
that becomes social reality. Society accepts that fact that
certain people o! actions are a threat to their own personal
interests. Consequently, many in society are willing to
tolerate the violation of others' civil rights in the interests
of controlling crime.
..
Such tolerance has given an open door to
lawbreakers to further curtail and limit civil liberties. In
the months following the a~cks of September II, 200I,
the federal government eased restrictions on .the
surveillance, apprehension, interrogation, and detention of
suspected· terrorists. To many people,. this is. the price
society must pay in order to control "the crime problem"
or to ensure public safety.
However, much too often, such abuses are
disproportionately directed toward people of color or
people at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
For instance, lower-class prisoners in state prisons are
often subjected to treatment that wouldn't be tolerated if it
were directed toward more affluent inmates in mediumsecurity or federal prisons. For several years prisoners in
Alabama state prisons were often chained· to metal
"hitching posts" for as long as 7hours at a time no matter
the weather. They were denied food and· water and
bathroom privileges. and were sometimes subjected . to
verbal and physical abuse by prison guards.
.
Ultimately a federal judge ruled that the hitching
post could no longer be used.. He stated, "With deliberate
indifference. for the health, safety, and indeed the lives of
inmates, prison officials have knowingly subjected them
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to· all hazards of the hitching post, they obsetved as theY
suffered pain, humiliation, and .inj~ries as a result" .
It is axiomatic that people in the United States
take for granted that· street crime is the worst social
problem and that corporate crime is not as dangerous or as
costly. . However, unsafe work conditions; dangerous
chemicals in the air, water, and food; faulty products;
UMece8S8IY surgery; and· shoddy emergency medical care
actually put people who live in this nation into more .
constant and imritinent physical danger than do ordinary
street crimes. According to Bureau of Justice statistics,
. approximately 19,000 people are murdered every year in
the U.S•. At the same time, 56,000 Americans die each
year on the job or from 'occupational diseases such as
black lung and asbestos. Reports have indicated such
hazards play a major role in birth defects when pregnant
female employees ingest or inhale harmful fumes. In
addition, tens of thoUsands more die from pollution,
contaminated .foods, hazardous consumer products, and
hospital malpractice.
What about the economic impact of street crime
as opposed to ~rporate crime? The numbers are not .
surprising. The FBI estimates that burglary and robbery
cost'the U.S. S3.8 billion a year. In contrast, auto repair
fraud alone costs an estimated S40 ~Ulion and health care
fraud an additionalSIOO to $400 billion a year. And while·
the general public usually views certain types of corporate
crime as more serious than street crimes, the individuals
and corporations responsible for these dangers rarely
receive heavy criminal punishment. For example, in 1997
Florida's Attorney General concluded that the Prudential
Insurance Company of America, the nation's largest
insurer, engaged in' a deliberate scheme to cheat its
customers for more than a decade. Instead of criminal
prosecution, the company settled with the state for Ii fine
of SIS million - a fraction of the S2 .billion earned by
defrauding customers for so long..
In contrast, ifwe (meaning the average individual)
stole millions of dollars from a bank. or was a shop owner
who defrauded customers,or a small business-person who
had knowingly manufactured a. potentially lethal product,
it's highly unlikely we would avoid prosecution and be
permitted to carry on with life as usual. Yet large
corporations engage in such activities every day without
much pUblic outcry, moral panic, or legislative action.
Most are never prosecuted under criminal statutes.
Instead, our nation directs massive law enforcement
efforts at "typical" street crimes as drUg use, common and
.petit thieves, and prostitutes.
The law, 'unfortunately, haS alwayrbeen ~ined
oil the side of power. Laws have uniformly been enacted
for the protection and perpetuation of power. It is highly
unlikely that we'll ever witness a shift in this maxim. •
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FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

'r.omJbe,~socia,te,Ed~t~r.~.,,;
,

Not long ago Steve PertBuii ;and I 'were'tJillcing
about adult communities and I told him that I wouldn't
live in one. "Too many damn rules," I said. I don't need
some high and mighty ~~iation telling ~e ,I Can't fly
flag or paint my house a certain color. ' Steve marveled
and ~id if I was wealthy my attitude would be different,
that . .I'd want some stuffy association imposiDg
restrictions because it would work to keep my property
values up and the riff-raff out Really? ,
Our conversation ended rather abruptly for
reasons I.don't ~U now. Nevertheless, I pondered our
conversatIon and reached an overwhelming conclusion
that we have too. many laws. including the trivial
comm~ity associa~on regulations. We should have just
:stuck with the Ten Commandments.
'
'
Consider some of these laws that are still in effect
across . the nation., In Detroit it is illegal to tie, your
crocodile to a fire hydrant I~ Chicago it is illegal to, eat in
a restaurant that is on' flJ'e. How about this one froin
Kentucky: It is illegal to shoot an unloaded gun. , Oh yes!
There's more. It is illegal in San Francisco to dry a car at
a car wash with rags made from old underwear, and in
Gurnee, Illinois, it is illegal for women weighing over 200
pounds to ride a horse wearing shorts.·
'
, Even prisons have some really ridiculous rules.
For example, prisoners are prohibited from posting their
names on websites ,in an effort to build community ties
and friendships on their quest toward rehabilitation.
Some prisoners, because of their charges, are
"
prohibited from visiting with anyone under the age of 18
(even their own children). Yet children roam freely
~!Jgh the institution visiting park while the prohibited
jnmate visits with his or her adult visitors. And how about
the new crafted rule that limits the number of items that
can be received through the mail., Family and friends are
permitted to send as many pages of typed or written
~rrespondence they wish, but may not include ,more than
5 additional items such as photographs or' other
print~media objects. In other words. if your flJmily,had
a reumon or wanted to send pictures of the event, they are
r~uired to send only 5 in one envelope.. So to. se.r,d ~O
. pictures they ,need 4 separate envelopes. ' All this stupidity
has forced me to take a Kafkaesque vieW (as my friend
Glenn Larsen would say) of our nation's laws and the
~ple'sresponsibilities for· making them. Taking a brief
View of the history of laws beginning with the Ten
Commandments.
.
Moses, the attribute author of the Old Testament
,
book. EX~us, says the laws were written by the fil.1ger, of
G~. Sm~ that time, hardly anyone has paid much
a~tion to them, other than to pay them lip' service;
Graven images are everywhere. How many S<H:8l1ed
believers have not taken God's name in vain? Remember
the Sabbath? (I'm not talking about Black Sabbath.)

a

Perspecbves - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Honor thy father and. mother? People still kil~ commit
adultery, 'Steal, ,Bear false WitneSs." and covet What is not
theirS. '. ',"" " '
", .
,
"
,.
"The big' uproar over placing the Ten
Commandments at a public' building in Alabama cOuld
hav~. been 'av~ided if ~bama Supreme Court Justi~: ROy
Moore had'slmply abided by the federal·order. Rules'are
rules and they must be obeyed. ' Right? 'Otherwise,
lawyers get into the act. ' They jump with glee' 'when
people don't follow the rules. just as law- enforcement
officers do. Lawlessness is their bread and butter.
,"
Just think about it.. Without, IawbreakerS~ Cop!;
would be' out of, a job, prison guardS wouldn't' be in
demand, and the courts wouldn't be so damn conservatiVe;
Without lawyers, our laws would be tOo simple. ' There
would be no loo~holes to argue about. Appellate judges
would be left to sit around twiddling their thumbs: As it is
now, 'to keep busy, judges take it upon tJiemselves'to
meddle .' in our nation's election proceSs. ' . FirSt ,th~ ,
PreSidenti~1 election; then the California' goveriiorreeaU. '
What they' did was made 'an end" run 'around" the
constitution:
.
, '," 'And h?w about our Legislators?' ,They' bave
eroded our basIC freedoms in return for' sWeedteaitdeals
for special interests or simply to expand' an ' alreadY
swollen government The worst part of it all is bills 8et
passed into law without many, if any, of our
representatives actually reading or analyzing'the daJim
thmgs. Most representatives rely on summaries prepared
by aides or worse - lobbyists.
.
.
,...
Have' you ever had the opportunity to actually
~d some of the legislative bills? Oftentimes' theyai'e the
SIZe of a New Orleans' phone book and contain language
best described as legalistic goobledygook.
' .
, Wouldn't it be simpler to have bills printed on one
typewritten page? Certainly God understood brevity and
wrote in plain'Hebrew.
'.
. , ' ",
, " ,Better yet, instead of making' neW laws,
lawmakers should be rescinding a high percentage' of the
thousands already ,'enacted. The' current attitude of
lawmakers is too few laws' and too'many rights, when it
should be the other way around.
.
, ',' It has always been 'said that no one is above' 'the
,taw ,and no one below it. If so, how come'the 'rich 'and
powerful bigWigs get only slaps' when they should get a
knuckle sandwich?
.' ~ve a suggestion. 4wmakers need to· give
lawmaklD~ a rest. slow down the busy' work of regulating
what we IDgest; how we choose to die; our urihe content;
our sexual proclivities; how much we eat. smoke or'drink;
'what we read; whether we use .our seat belts; and how,
where and when we play. "
'
" ,
:' . !"Iere's a novel idea. '. How about passing a law
tha~' hl~lIts la~aking. Then we wouldn't have special
le~lslatlve ses.slOns to appropriate emergency funding to
budd more pnsons to house nonviolent drug offenders and

7-----------:..-----

- - - - - - - - - - - . . . : . . . - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

parole and conditional release violators who flunk faulty
lie detector. tests or other trivial technical violations
As I reflect on our lawmaking problem, I am
convinced it began with Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor
of movable type. Before that contraption. was invented,
ancient people just didn't have the· time or inclination to
chisel out laws in stone. Kings sorta made up the rules as
they went along based on common sense, ethical and
practical considerations found in religioQS doctrine.
Hammurabi, the king of ancient. Mesopotamia,
took one giant step backward when he came up with the
idea of putting the laws of his country into a formal code,
using clay tablets, which Was easier than chiseling them in
stone. Few Europeans in the Middle Ages could read, so
they just took it for granted that whatever they did was
probably against the law. Most of us today can read, but
lawyers have made it next to impossible for anyone
without some legal experience to understand.
And like the people living in the Middle Ages, we
don't always know for certain if we are abiding by the
"letter of the law" in everything we do - or don't do. So,
for all of the free citizens of our legal nation, my advise is
to do exactly what they are told to do, that they not risk
the "penalty of law" by tearing off pillow and mattress
tags. And to be on the safe side, they should always wear
shoes and a shirt before entering a store; thar is, everyone
except women. They may go topless as an act of defiance
.against unjust restrictions. - Oscar Hanson.

Florida Lawmakers Send Message:
More Prisons - Less Rehabilitation
by Linda Hanson
Recently the Florida legislature made an
emergency $66 million appropriation· for prison
construction, sacrificing schools, health care, and a
number of other services. This action was taken to
counter a surprising. increase in prison admissions that
allegedly caught state planners off guard. State Senator
Victor Crist, a Tampa Republican. who chairs the
appropriations subcommittee on criminal justice,' was
quoted as saying, "We weren't happy about having to do it
but, unfortunately, after reviewing the facts, it became
evident it was necessary."
Here are the facts:
2,823 offenders were
sentenced to prison in June 2003, the highest number of
monthly admissions since 1992. During the previous 11
months, 25,234 people were sentenced to Florida prisons,
4.1 percent more than state planners expected. . Those
increases forced state planners to boost earlier projections,
which triggered the emergency plea for legislative help in
paying for cons~ction and expansion of prisons. The
alternative was to free prisoners early, according to
lawmakers and state prison officials.
Despite a drop in crime, the number of prison
admissions continues to grow. Longer sentences and

Perspectives - - - - . . . . . ; . - - - - - - - - -

mandatory maximum sentences mean the number of
prisoners per 100,000 Florida residents is also on the
upswing. Currently, there are 440 prisoners for every
100,000 Florida residents.
Drug cases led all other offenses. in the surge of
new prison admissions. According to the DOC, there
were 1,000 additional prison admissions for drug offenses
in the 2002-2003 fiscal year that ended June 30.
Hillsborough County judges sent 100 drug offenders to
prison in June, the highest number of any county in the
state. The majority of those drug crimes were for crimes
that did not rise to the level of trafficking, which carries
mandatory prison time.
In the same vein, prison refonners and other
critics cited the statistics as evidence the state's approach
to drug crimes is neither cost-effective nor rehabilitative.
They say the state continues to build costly prisons to
house ' nonviolent offenders while cutting drug
rehabilitation programs that could keep thoSe offenders
out ofjail.
State funding cuts mean more prisoners are going
from prison to the street with no chance for a substanCe
abuse program or job training. Agencies that offer these
programs are bracing for a 23 percent cut in their budgets,
reducing funding from $31 million to $24 .million. In
. Hillsborough County, residential and outpatient programs
are estimated to lose more than $500,000. Statewide, the
cuts will affect 30 live-in and about 100 nonresidential
programs.
On August 21, 2003, the DOC, which funnels the
money to the agencies, sent an e-mail to service ·providers
sugg~ting several eost-cutting measures, including a 16
percent decrease in residential substance-abuse programs.
The DOC also wants agencies to stop subsidizing
offenders in outpatient treatment, instead requiring them
to pay for I00 percent oftheir services.
Mary Lynn· Ulrey, chief executive officer of the
Drug Abuse Comprehensive Coordinating Office :in
Tampa, stated that the center will lose 25 beds and IS
positions, including receptionists, technicians, counselors
and a director of finance.
Tampa Crossroads will lose four beds that would
serve eight women - "women, who will be left without
any way to reintegrate into the community," said Sara
Romero, a former state representative and the current
director of fmance and operations.
"We're defmitely doing it wrong," said Robert
Batey, a criminal law professor at Stetson University and
member of the sentencing reform group, Families Against
Mandatory Minimums. Batey believes that if our money
was spent on drug treatment programs as diversionary
efforts in trial rather than sending all our problems to
prison, we would get more bang for the buck..
Batey says the Legislature's eagerness to build
more prisons and pass tough sentencing laws is a
consequence of intimate ties between lawmakers and the

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

"prison industrial complex."
Prison industries use
campaign contributions and' promises of economic
development to gain support from lawmakers. Those ties
are especially strong with legislators from rural,
economically depressed areas where prisons are welcome
for the jobs they create. Batey claims that's one of the
reasons we have more and more people going to prison
despite a declining crime rate.
There can be no mistake that the question of how
to deal with drug offenses is complex. Seemingly tough
sentencing laws and massive prison constructio~ during
the 1990s bas been credited with driving down crim~
rates.
At the same time, there is a growing consensus
that more money needs to· be allocated to .drug courts,
which provide treatment and supervision to nonviolent
substance abusers. "There is no debate that the drug court
model works," said Hillsborough Circuit Jud~e Kevin
Carey, one of two drug court judges in the county. Thus,
the issue becomes one of priorities and that question
depends on what lawmakers in Tallahassee decide.
There is a feeling among many in the judicial
system that building more prisons is not the answer,
especially when most of the offenders who will be
warehoused are nonviolent drug offenders.
John Skye, assistant public defender for
Hillsborough County, blames the Legislature for creating
"draconian" laws that ties the hands ofjudges and keeps
feeding the .prison treadmill. Skye is of the personal
opinion that there ought to bea way to deal with these
social problems rather then just the knee-jerk reaction of
throwing everybody in prison, an opinion shared by many,
including the entire staff at Florida Prisoners' Legal Aid
~t~.
. .
And, as ironic as his statement appears, Victor
Crist stated that it may be time to take a look at how drug
offenders are sentenced. Yes, Mr. Crist, merely locking
up somebody because he or she is a substance abuser is
not a prudent thing to do.
[Sources: Tampa Tribune, 9/10/03, 9128/03; DOC Annual
Report].

u.s. Supreme Court
Upholds Prison Visitation
Limitations
by Bob Posey
In Volume 9, Issue 2, of FPLP, the lead article,
"Prison Visitation in Jeopardy," reported on a case that
originated in Michigan concerning prison visitation .that
'had made its way to the·Supreme Court and that had the
.potential to result in new limitations on prison visitation
nationwide. On June 16, 2003, the Supreme Court upheld
the Michigan DOC visitation restrictions, overturned two

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

lower federal courts' rulings against the restrictions, and
opened the way for all states to implemeI!t more extensive
limitations on prison visitation.
The case, Overton v. Bazzella, involved a'
challenge filed by Michelle Bazzetta and numerous other
MOOC prisoners questioning the Constitutionality of
restrictions implemented by the Michigan DOC in 1995
on non-contact visitation. Under the regulations, prisoners
can only receive visits from persons placed on an
approved visiting -list and attorneys and clergy on official
business. While the list can include an unlimited number
of immediate family members, visits by minors are
s~erely limited. Minors who are not prisoners' children
or grandchildren may not visit
Those .children who are
allowed to visit must be accompanied by an adult who is
an immediate family member of the prisoner. Fonner
prisoners who are not immediate family members are
prohibited from visiting and prisoners who receive inprison substance abuse violations may be prohibited all
visits, except with attorneys or clergy, for a two year
minimum, with no limit on extensions of the prohibition.
After the case was filed, the MDOC changed the
regulations to allow minor siblings and nieces and
nephews to visit, but reduced the visiting prohibition
provision to a single in-prison substance abuse violation•..
The lawsuit tiled by the prisoners asserted that the
regulations violated their constitutional right to intimate
association under the First and Fourteenth Amendments
and violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against
cruel and unusual punishment. The district court upheld
the regulations as far as contact visits went but held that
the regulations were unconstitutional and violated
prisoners' rights as applied to non-contact visits. That
decision was upheld by the 6lh Circuit Court of Appeals.
See: BaZzella v. McGinnis, 148 F.Supp.2d 813 (2001) and
Bazzella v. McGinnis, 286 F.3d 311 (2002).
Subsequently, the MDOC sought review from the
Supreme Court and it was granted in December 2002.
The questionS considered by the high court were whether
prisoners h~ve a· constitutional right to non-contact visits,
and whether the MOOC's visiting restrictions furthered
"legitimate penological goals" Jthe test for d~ning
whether prison regulations that infringe on prisoner's
constitutional rights are permissible). The court also
considered whether the visiting' prohibition for in-prison
substance abuse violations violated the guarantee against
cruel and unusual punishment.
Although the Supreme Court j~stices were split in
their reasons for upholding the· reStrictions, they
unanimously agreed that the restrictive regulations
adopted by Michigan do not violate the Constitution's
guarantee of the right to association nor the. prohibition
against cruel and unusUal punishment. .
Justice Kennedy, who wrote the court's opinion,
as has been done in all past prison visitation cases to come

9-------

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORI~A PRISON LEGAL

before the Supreme Court, avoided answering the question
of whether prisoners have a right to visitation (association)
by simply concluding that if such a right exists, the
regulations at issue did not threaten that right Next,
applying the four-prong test established in Turner v.
Safley, 482 U.S. 78,89-91(1987), used to determine
whether prison regulations that infringe on prisoners' ;
constitutional rights are constitutional, the Court ·lield the
regulations pass the fm prong in that they bear a rational
relationship to the legitimate penological interest of
security and protecting minor children.
The second prong of the test is also satisfied
where prison~ have alternative means of associating
with persons not allowed to visit through communication
by phone, mail or sending messages through allowed
visitors, according to the Court
On the third and fourth prongs the Court found
that allowing unlimited visitation would jeopardiie prison·
security, burden financial resources, endanger childrens'
safety, and finally, no attematives were suggested that
would accommodate prisoners' associational interests
while imposing minimal burdens on the goal of
maintaining prison security. Actually, suggestions were,
made, but simply rejected out-of-hand by the Court saying
they do not "meet Tun}er's high standard."
The Court also rejected the Eighth Amendment,
cruel and unusual punishment claim, which was directed
towards the restriction on visitation for prisoners with
substance abuse violations. Citing to Sandin v. Connor,
SIS U.S. 472, 485 (1995). the Court held that such
restriction "is not a dramatic departure from accepted
standards for conditions of confinement," nor does the
regulation create inhuman prison conditions, deprive
prisoners of basic necessities, fail to protect their health or
safety, involve the' infliction of pain or injury, or
deliberate indifference to the risk it might occur, citing
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S.97 (1976) .and Rhodes v.
.Chapman, 452 U.S. 337 (1981). Therefore, the Court
concluded, the restriction did not violate the pro~bition
against cruel and unusual punishment
.
The impact of the fanal result of this. case will
depend on how prison systems in different states wish to
implement it. The tWo most egrigious aspects appear to
be giving prison officials the discretion to severely limit.
minor children from visiting prisoners and to increase the
use of visitation prohibitions as a management/punishment
tool. See: Overton v. Bazzena, 123 S.Ct. 2162 (2003)..

Death Penalty Imposed
For Child Rape .
by William Wiley

Perspectives

----------------~

which allows the death penalty to be given in cases of rape
where the victim is under the age of 12. This was not the
first case in which prosecutors had sought the death
penalty under the 1995 law; however, when previously
given the option, juries had been unwilling to a~ to.the'·
sentence.
.
If Kennedy's sentence ' is upheld, it would be'the '",'
first time in almost 40 years since a person was executed
for rape - the last time was in 1964, in the state of
Missouri. In 1977 the U.S. Supreme Court held that the
death penalty could not be unposed for the rape of an
adult. Apparently, lawmakers in Louisiana determined the
high court's decision did not preclude the death penalty
when the victim is a child under 12, and in 1996 the
Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the law. Opponents of
the law attempted to have it overruled by the U.S.
Sup~e Court, but because no one had been sentenced to
death under. the law at that time, the high court denied
review.
Now,. it is highly likely that Kennedy's case will
make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court wbere opponents
of the law and many legal experts believe it will be found
unconstitutional. The issue has long been a controversial
moral question: Whether the death penalty should be
applied in cases other than murder? While many may
argue against the death penaltY in any case, others would
argue that in cases such as Kennedy's, a life sentence in
prison "is in no way equivalent to the lifelong mental
prison this child will have to endure," as one such victim
commented recently in an editorial in the New Orleans's
Times - Picayune.
While a few. states have capital crime laws for
such crimes as .treason and train wreaking, most are
considered outdated and are not used. The -federal
government also allows for punishment by death for
crimes including espionage, kidnapping, and even drug
trafficking, but ~ileprosecutors, have become more
aggressive in pursuing the death penalty, federal juries
have been reluctant to hand down such a sentence for
those crimes.
Nevertheless, should the high. court uphold the
Louisiana law in Kennedy's case there could be broad
ramifications. Many believe it would be harder to get
children to come forward against their ,attackers, who are
'most often family members or friends, ~and it could result
in more "murder-rape" cases. Additionally. prosecutors
could become even more aggressive in seeking the death
penalty under existing laws for non-murder crimes.
Moreover, other states could begin following suit with
Louisiana by enacting similar laws, and Florida would
most. likely be leading the pack.
[Sou~; Christian Science Monitor, 9/8/03] •

FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

Perspecbves

POST CONVICTION CORNER

by Loren Rhoton, Esq.

Recently, in the 'case of Esoindola v. State. 28 F.L.W. D2406 (Fla. 3M DCA, 1012212003),
the Third District Court of Appeal issued a ruling, upon a motion for rehearing, which ~ll affect
a large number ofinmates. In Espindola the Third DCA ruled that the Florida Sexual Predator
Act ("FSPA") as codified in Florida Statutes §775.21 violates procedural due process and,
therefore, is unconstitutional. Therefore, pursuant to Espindola. any person who has been
designated as a sexual predator can now have the predator designation eliminated.
The FSPA places significant restrictions and requirements on, any persons designated as
sexual predators by:
.
I. Requiring sexual predators supervised.in the community to have
special conditions of supervision and to be supervised by probation
officers with low caseloads;
2. Requiring sexual predators to register with the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement; and,
3. Requiring community and public notification of the presence'ofa sexual
predator.
Furthennore, upon registering with the Florida Department ofLaw Enforcement or the
,..
local sheriff's department (as is required), a sexual predator must provide all personal
inforrDation relating to name, age, sex, etc., in addition to providing a brief description ofthe
crime and providing genetic material. The FSPA further authorizes the Florida Department of
Motor Vehicles to provide a photograph ofthe sexual predator for purposes of'Public .
notification.' All ofthe above personal information, along with the sexual offender's photograph
will be posted on the internet for worldwide distribution. Failure to comply with the registration
requirements is a third degree felony. Finally, the FSPA automatically prohibits specific
offenders from working at any business, school, day care center, park, playground, or other place
where children regularly congregate. Needless to say, being designated as a sexual predator is
not desirable. Now said designation can be removed due to the Espindola ruling.
In Espindola, the Third DCA ruled that the FSPA is unconstitutional as it violates'
procedural due process. As of this date, the other district courts have not ruled on the
constitutionality of the FSPA. Therefore, it would be advisable to draft a motion asking to have
the sexual predator designation removed from one's name as soon as is po,ssible. It has been my
observation that whenever a ruling is issued that benefit's criminal defendants, other district
courts begin chipping away at the ruling and eventually excluding some ofthe people who should
be eligible for relief. For example, when "eggs y. State, 759 So.2d 620 (Fla. 2000) found the
1995 sentencing guidelines to be unconstitutional, the district courts began issuing rulings which
limited the application of~. Eventually people who would have originally been eligible for

11--------------

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Perspectives

---~--------•

~

.,

I

••

."~ reliefwere excluded from such consideration by the new district COiJrtrulings.:Theterdie~,::;;:; .'.::.
I recommend that any persons designated as sexual predators pursue relief pursuant to
Espindola as soon as possible.
It would be advisable to file a 3.850 motion 8Ileging that the FSPA infringes on a liberty
. interest in reputation. See Wis. y. Constantineau. 400 U.S. 433 (1971) [where a person's good
name, reputation, honor or integrity is at stake because ofwhat the government is doing to him, ,
notice and opportunity to be heard are essential]. In your 3.850 it would be advisable to allege
that you suffer from the "stigma" attached to the public notification and registry registration
requirements. Furthermore, it will be necessary, to allege damage to tangible interests, such as
employment opportunities, in order to trigger procedural due process requirements. Essentially,
the courts will be conducting a "stigma plus test" to determine ifa defendant's procedural due
process rights are implicated. See Paul v.Dayis. 424 U.S. 693 (1976) ["reputation'alone, apart
from some more tangible interests such as employment, is [not] either 'liberty' or 'property' by
itselfsufficient to invoke the procedural protection of the Due Process Clause'1.
Therefore, m3.850 motion it would be advisable to point out that ESJlindola held that the
act of being publiclylabeled a sexual predator clearly results in a sigma. See also Doe v.
WiJliaros, 167 F.Supp.2d 45 (D.C. Cir. 2001) ["it is beyond dispute that public notification
pursuant to the [District ofColumbia's Sexual Offender and Registration Act] results. in
stigma"]; Doe v. Lee. 132 F.Supp2d 57 (D. Conn. 2001); and, Doe v. Pataki, 3 F.Supp2d 456
(S.D.N.Y. 1988).
•
In addition to alleging the "stigma" requirement to invoke procedural Due Process
protections, it will also be necessaryto allege the "plus" factors. Therefore, in the 3.850 it should
be alleged that the lifelong registration requirements, employment prohibitions' and the inability
to pursue tort remedies satiSfy the "plus" requirements ofthe stigma-plus test. It has Jleen held
by the U.S. Supreme Court that employment does satisfy the "pius" requirement. Paul v. Davis
424 U.S. at 701; see also, Collie v. State, 710 So.2d 1000 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1998) [employment
restrictions infringe on a constitutionally protected liberty interest.
In addition to alleging the stigma plus test, it will also be necessary to allege that you
have been denied the requisite procedural safeguards ofdue process. A criminal defendant
receives no process as the FSPA requires an automatic determination of"sexual predator" if one
_ of the enumerated crimes has been committed. Thus, such a total failure to provide for a judicial
hearing on the risk ofthe defendant~scommitting future offenses makes the FSPA violative and
unconstitutional. See Doe v. Dep't ofPub. Safety.. 271 F.3d 38 (2 nd Cir. 2001), atrg. Doe v. Lee,
132 F.Supp2d 57 (D. Conn.2001)~ cert. granted, 122 S.Ct.1959 (2002);
As always. it is advisable to be represented by experienced and competent counsel on an
action such as the one suggested above. Nevertheless, if it is not possible to obtain counsel, then
I would recommend a thorough reading ofEspindol a. and, thereafter, the filing ofa 3:850 motion
addressing the unconstitutionality ofthe Florida Sexual Predator Act.

Loren Rhoton is a member in good standing with the Florida Bar
and a member ofthe Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section. Mr.
, Rhoton practices almost exclusively in the postconviction/appellate
area ofthe law, both at the State and Federal Level. He has assisted
hundreds ofincarceratedpersons with their cases and has numerous
written appel/ate opinions.

12------------~~

.',

,

"

io,:

I··

t,'.

RHOTON & HAYMAN, P.A.
LOREN D.RHOTON
Attorney At Law

I:,'

<i)

DIRECT APPEALS

SENTENCE CORRECTIONS
<!) FEDERAL PETITIONS ·FOR WRIT
OF HABEAS CORPUS
(i) NEW TRIALS
{t/' INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFERS

<i)

,.

/\

,

(

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FLORI.DA PRISON LEGAL

Perspectlves - - - : - - - - - - - - - - - -

The jolJowing are summaries ofrecent state andfederal cases that may be useful to or have a significant impact on Florida prisoners.
Readers should always read the full opinion as published in .the Florida Law Weekly (Fla.L. Weekly); Florida Law Weekly Federal
(Fla.L. Weekly FederaQ; Southern Reporter 2d Series (S0.2d); Federal Supplement 2d Series (F.Supp.2d); Federal Reporter 3d Series
(F.3d); or the Supreme Court Reporter (S.C/.), sinc}! these summaries arefor general information only.
•

u.s. SUPREME COURT

ineffective assistance claims and
concluded
that
counsel's
perfonnance
was
not
ineffective.
Yarborough
v.
Gentry,
16
That conclusion was' supported by
Fla.L.Weekly Fed. S 479 (10/20/03)
the
record. The court went into a
Respondent .Lionel Gentry
summation
of what transpired on
was convicted in California state
record.
court of assault with a deadly
The Ninth Circuit rejected
weapon for stabbing his gu.lfriend,
the
state
court's conclusion in large
Tanaysha Handy. Gentry claimed he
.
part
because
counsel did not
stabbed her accidentally during a
highlight
various
other potentially
. dispute with a drug dea1ef.
pieces
of
evidence: that
exculpatory
After
testimonies
from
Handy
had
used
drugs
on the day of
Handy, eyewitness Albert Williams,
the
stabbing
and
during
the early
and Gentry in his own defense and a
morning
hours
of
the
day
of her
lengthy closing by defense counsel
preliminary
hearing;
that
William's
the jury convicted after a six-hour
inability to see the stabbing clearly
deliberation.
was
relevant to the issue of intent;
Gentry appealed arguing that
that
Gentry's testimony was
his trial counsel's closing argument
consistent
with William's in some
deprived him of his right to effective
respects;
that
the government did not
assistance of counsel. The California
call
as
a
witness
William's c0Court of Appeal rejected that
worker,
who
saw
the
stabbing; that
contention, and the California
stab
wound
was
only
one
inch deep,
Supreme Court denied review.
suggesting
it.
may
have
been
Gentry's petition for federal habeas
accidental;
that
Handy
testified
she
Corpus was denied by the U.S.
had
been
stabbed
twice,
but
only
had
District Court, but the U.S. Court of
one wound; and tluit Gentry, after
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
being confronted by Williams, did
reversed. The state filed a petition
not try to retrieve his weapon but
for a writ of certiorari to the United
instead moved toward Handy while
States Supreme Court.
repeating, "she's my girlfriend."
After the Court went into the
The Supreme Court ruled
analysis of the principles regarding
that
these
arguments did not establish
ineffective assistance and effective
the
state
court's decision was
assistance of' counsel, it found that
unreasonable.
Some of the omitted
the Ninth Circuit had erred in its
items,
such
as
Gentry's reaction to
ruling. .
Williams,
are
th.9roughly
ambiguous.
The Ninth Circuit had found
Some
of
the
others
might
well have
California . Court of Appeal'S
backfired.
For
example,
although
decision "objectively unreasonable".
Handy
claimed
at
trial
she
had
used
The California court's opinion cited
drugs
before
the
preliminary
hearing,
case law setting forth the correct
she testified that she was not under
federal . ~ for evaluating
.. the influence and could remember

exactly what had happened the day
of tHe stabbing.
And, although
Handy's'wound was only one inch
deep, it still lacerated her stomach
and
diaphragm,
spilling the
stomach's contents into her chest
cavity and required almost two hours
of surgery. These were facts that the
prosecutor could have exploited to
great advantage in her rebuttal.
After further analysis of .the
Ninth Circuit's ruling, the high Court
stated the Circuit court's conclusion
of counsel's effectuation in that not
only was his perfo~ce deficient,
but that any disagreement with that
conclusion would be objectively
unreasonable - gives too little
deference to the state courts that have
primary
responsibility
for
supervising defense counsel in state
criminal trials. In tum, the high
Court granted the state's writ and
reversed the judgment of the Ninth
Circuit.

U.s. DISTRlCf COURT
Purvis v. City ofOrlando, 16 Fla. L.,
Weekly Fed. 0694 (M.D. Fla.
7129/03)

Carol Purvis (Plaintiff), as
personal representative of the Estate
of Thomas J. Logan, Jr. brought a
Iawsu~ pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983,
against law enforcement officials
Kevin Beary as Sheriff of Orange
County and .Police OffiCer Wendell
Reeve (Defendants), regarding the
death of her ~-husband, Logan.
. .The Plaintiff filed a sixcount complaint alleging that Officer
Reeve violated Logan's civil rights'
by permitting him· to escape and

....;".--------.;...-------14-~-~-----------

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

law, in factual terms, has not staked
intentionally failing to aide him from
out a bright line. qualified immunity
drOwning. Plaintiff's argument was
based on violations of Logan's
almost
always
protects
the
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and
defendant."
Fourteenth Amendment rights. The
The Plaintiff submitted no
Defendants filed a'Motion to'Dismiss , clearly existing case law on the issue,
and the U.S. District Court granted it.
and failed to cite authority holding
that a law enforcement officer cannot
The background of this case
shows that on the night of March 7.
purposely allow a prisoner to escape
200 I, in a prearranged operation, law
into a dangerous situation. The
enforcement officials arrested Logan
Plaintiff also 'did not submit authority
declaring that if a law enforcement
at the Orlando International Airport
for drug possession. Before the
officer does allow such a situation.
arrest" law enforcement officials,
he has an atrtrnlative duty to rescue
the escapee.· Finally. Plaintiff cited
including Officer Reeve, was briefed
no case holding that a law·
on Logan being a serious flight risk
enforcement officer must place
and was potentially suicidal. Reeve
allegedly stated. that any attempt by
themselves in mortal danger in order
to effecuate a rescue.
Logan to procure suicide would" be
accommodated by law enforcement.
Thirty minutes after Logan's
Dsterback v. Crosby. Jr., 16 Fla. L.
Weekly Fed. D 5 l3 (N.D. Fla.
arrest, D.E.A. ~fficials pla~ him in
a holding cell and almost 90 minutes
3/5/03)
later OffiCer ., Reeve arrived to
James V. Crosby, lr.~
transport Logan to central booking;
(Defendant) filed a special report
Reeve did not Search Logan or'
September 10, 200 I and the court
construed it as a motion for summary
handcuff him, although" Logan held
judgment.
his hands behind his back as if he
Afterwards, Mark
was handcuffed.
Osterback (Plaintift), after being
advised'of his Rule 56, obligation to
Before reaching the patrol
car Logan fled from Reeve, although . respond to the motion for summary
Reeve maintained that Logan
judgment,. filed his response and
overpowered hun. the Plaintiff
submitted evidence in support of his'
contellded
that
Reeve
allowed
Logan
claims.
.
'
' .
.
to flee without incident., . Officer
The challenges involved in
Reeve .and other .officers pursued
this case are the effects of
Logan as he scaled . . fences and
departmental practice, policy, or
eventually entered a retention pond.
custom regarding prison' rules and
Law .enforcement officials gathered
regulations within the Department of
at the shore of' the pond, and a
Corrections.
The
Plaintiff
first
helicopter was," above videotaping
and illuminating where Logan was.
complained of the automatic
Although 'a· boat was located nearby,
placement of an inmate charged with
Office Reeve ~id not follow Logan
a
disciplinary
infraction
in
into the retention poDd in order to
administrative confinement.
He
rescue or capture. him.. and
asserted that this practice, policy, or
subsequently, Logan drowned.
custom prevents the collection of
evidence to present in defense of the
In conclusion of the court's
fmdings it ruled that the Plaintiff did
allegations charged. Staff assistance
not state any cqnstitutional violation,
that is offered is ineffective because
staff
members will not collect
nor cited any controlling a4thority in
arguing that Reeve . objectively . evidence. It was noted that the
violated cleariy established law. In
denial of requests io collect evidence
were based on departmental rules.
Kelly. v.: ClU'iis, quoting from Post v.
Ciiy oj Fort Lauderdale, 7 F.3d
The
Plaintiff's
other
1552. 1557 (I ItfJ''cir. 1993). "If case
complaint regarded the departmental
.'

~

"

I

I

rule that required the immediate
return (within 24 hours) of non-legal
incoming mail which is disapproved. .
The Plaintiff contended that·· if
incoming mail is det~ined not to
meet departmental rule criteria of
incoming mai~ the sender of the mail
is sent a notice advising the mail was
disapproved.
Then, pursuant to
departmental rule, the inmate is then
given an opportunity to chalJenge the
.screening staff's disapproval through
departmental grievance procedure,by
an
uninvolved
departmental
employee. However, the practice,
policy, or custom of all institutional
mailroom employees is to return the
disapproved incoming mail within 24
hours of its receipt. . This denies a
meaningful opportunity to challenge
the disapproval because once the
letter is returred to sender the letter
then does not exist to permit an
independent, impartial review of the
contents causing the disapproval.
On
March
5,
2003
Magistmte Judge William C. SherriJl
docketed his report, for the second
time, and recommended that. the
Defendant's motion for summary
judgment be denied.
The case was evaluated in
detail and it gave a lengthy analysis
for
the recommended denial
However, after reviewing the
recommendation,
Senior
Judge
William Stafford remanded the Case
back for further consideration~ This
involved both claims- and the further
considerations were whether the
Plaintiff provided evidence that he
was deprived of due process liberty
interest, given that he is a parol~
ineligible inmate serving a life
sentence and whether the Plaintiff's
evidence of harm is sufficient to
support the challenge that was made
.to Defendant's rule concemi~gmail.
Clark Construction Group. Inc. v.
Hellmuth. Dbata. and Kassabaum.
Inc., 16 Fla. 1... Weekly Fed. 0 689
(M.D. Fla. 10/9/03)
This
case
highlights
jurisdictional issues involved in a
civil action in a state court and the

~---------------'15 -.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

filing from one of the parties a
removal of the action, in part, to a
federal court.
Here in this case the notice
of removal was' filed by the
defendant and purported only to
remove a part [the negligence claim],
from the state court action where the
plaintiff had filed an amended third.party complaint against· the defendant
asming an assigned indemnity
claim and complaint alleging direct
cause of action for negligence
against the defendant. However, the
federal district court is without'
subject-matter jurisdiction to rule on
merits of matter where the
negligence" claim' and amended
indemnity claim are two parts of a
single civil actiop and the defendant
had attempted to unilaterally sever
the claims and remove only the
negligence claim part of. the state
court action.
.
Congress has authorized a.
removal only of'a "civil action"
brought in a state court of which the
district courts of the United States
have original jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C.
section 1441 (a).
The case then details what'
actually 'construes .a "civil. action~'
comparing both" the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure and the Florida
Rules of civil Procedure with
explanation made to the difference in
their wordings.
Whether a federal court has
jurisdiction over a removal action
depends on the pleadings at the time
of
removal.
Subsequent
developments generally do not affect
the court's jurisdiction.'

DISTRICT
APPEAL

COURT

OF

Johnson v. State, 28 Fla. L. Weekly
D2241 (Fla.S IIl DCA 9/26/03)
Florida
prisoner
Jama
Johnson was convicted of possession
of a fireann by a convicted felon' and
sentenced to fifteen years in prison,
three years of which were designated
a minimum mandatory sentence.
Johnson raised multiple issues on

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

appeal and the DCA reversed on two
Ayala v. State, 28 Fla.. L. Weekly
02283 (Fla. 2nd DCA 10/3/03)
issues; one ofwhich I'll discuss here.
Johnson' challenged the
Florida prisoner Elpido
Ayala filed a petition pursuant to
propriety of a three-year minimum
Fla.R.App.P. 9.141(c) that raised two
mandatory
~entence
imposed
pursuant to section 77S.087(2Xa)l,
claims of ineffective assistance of
appellate counsel. The DCA granted
Fla. State. (2002), for possession of a
fU'e8rt11 during the commission of a . relief on only one of Ayala's claims,
.felony. The DCA recognized an
which alleged that appellate counsel
was ineffective in failing to argue
ambiguity, which required the
that it was fundamental error to
application of lenity embodied in
section 775.021(1), FIa.Stat.(2002).
instruct the jury on voluntary
The ambiguity created in
manslaughter where' the information
775.087(2Xa)I. is found in the use of
did not allege the element of intent to
the word' "actually" to modify
cause death, which is a necessary
element ofvoluntary manslaughter.
"possessed" in the farst portion of the
The . DCA held it was
statute and by its' omission in the
fundamental error for the trial court
latter part of the statue.
This
ambiguity .Ieads to two potential
to instruct the jury on' voluntary
constructions. The State argued that "manslaughter because had it been
raised as· an issue on appeal it would
the legislature, by its plain use of the
language, intended tluit the ten-year
have required a reversal.
minimum be applied when the felon
"actually" possessed a firearm but
Steele v. State, 28 Fla. L. Weekly
02294 (Fla Sill DCA 10/3/03)
that the t~year minimum applied
William Stewart Steele,· a
for certain offenses when possession
Florida prisoner, appealed an order
is something other than "actual". An
denying his tenth challenge to his
alternative construction is that the
legislature intended that the three
1991 conviction. The Fifth DCA
held that "enough is enough" and
excepted crimes bear a three-year
ruled Steele's current appeal was
minimum sentence, rather than a tenyear .minimum sentence, provided
without merit and ordered Steele to
that "actual" possession is proven.
show cause pursuant to State v.
In other words, the word "possessed"
Spencer, 7S1 S02d 47 (Fla.l999),.
in the latter portion" of the statute
why he should not· be barred from
should be construed as "actual
filing further pro se pleadings in his"
possession". The Second DCA has
criminal case. The DCA found no
previously adopted the second
merit in Steele's response and held
construction in BuneJrage v. Stale,
his successive petitions to be an.
814 So.2d 1133 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002).
abuse of the judicial system.
The Fifth DCA above did not find
The Court directed the Clerk
either
construction
clearly
of the DCA not to accept any further
manifested and determined the
pro se filings or pleadings from
Steele regarding Ninth Judicial
statute to be ambiguous in this
regard.
As a result, the DCA
Circuit Court Case No. I99o-CF·
5038..
accepted the construction urged by
Johnson and approved in Bundrage
and held the ten-year minimum
Nelson v. State, 28 Fla.L.Weekly
mandatory did not apply to this
D2276 (Fla. 4thOCA JO/1/03)
particular offense. Further, the threeFlorida prisoner Vernon
year' mblimum' mandatory would
Nelson had previously succeed!XI in
having . his case reversed and
apply, but only if it was shown that
Johnson "actually possessed" the
remanded" to the trial court for a
firearm, which the DCA construed to
determination of whether the trial
mean carried on his person.
transcripts demonstrate that his
criminal offenses (and the sentences

---------------16------

_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

imposed) were from a single criminal
episode, which .would prohibit
consecutive sentences.
On rehearmg. the state
argued that the Court need not reach
the merits of Nelson's Hale claim
because it had already determined
the claim w8s successive. (hi Hale v.
State. 630 So.2d 521 (Fla.1993) the
Supreme Court held that sentences
for multiple crimes committed during
a single criminal episode,. which
were enha~ced pursuant to section
775.084 could not be further
increased consecutively.)
Nelson first filed, his Hale
claim in 1995. It was timely. In itS
response to the 1995 motion, the
state argued that the Hale claim
could be raised only in a Rule 3.850
motion. The trial court denied the
claim based on the state's response.
Thus the merits of Nelson's claim
was not addressed - only the form of
the motion.
Nelson renewed his Hale
claim in 1997 under Rule 3.850. The
state responded that it was a
successive motion and should be
denied for that reason. The trial·
court denied the claim for the reasons
given in the State's response. Again
the motion was not decided on the
merits but solely on the basis of the
rule used as his vehicle.
Essentially the state argUed
that the first motion was improper
because Nelson cited the wrong rule.
and the second motion filed under
the other rule was improper because
it was successive.
The DCA
recognized that this tactic was unfair.
The Court reasoned it was hardly
proper for the law' to deny relief
because the form of the request is
improper and then when the form is
corrected· to say that the motion is successive, or repetitive. This, the
Court stated, was a little more than
the· "gotcha" school of litigation,
roundly condemned in the courts.
The DCA rejected the State's
position and held that Nelson's
claims were never addressed on the
merits so his Rule 3.850 moti.on

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

could not be deemed successive.
Reversed and remanded.

Coblentz v. Stale, 28 Fla. L. Weekly
02282 (Fla.2nd DCA 10/1103)
, In July 1999, Leander
Coblentz was sentenced to prison
followed by community control and
probation for several. criminal
offenses. He was declared to be a
sexual predator pursuant to section
775.21{4Xc), Fla.Stat. (1997).
Coblentz filed a motion to
correct illegal sentence seeking to
challenge . the sexual predator
designation. The trial court denied
relief and on appeal the district court
affirmed the trial court's ·ruling, but
encouraged Coblentz to file a "civil
proceeding in hopes both the merits
of his case can be tested and the trial
court can be given an opportunity to
devise a workable mechariism to
resolve such claims."
followed
the
Coblentz
DCA's advice and filed a motion for
relief from judgment pursuant to rule
I .540 (b). The trial court denied the
motion without any discussion on the
merits. On appeal the DCA reversed
the trial court's decision and
remanded for the trial court to attach
documentation which demonstrates
that Coblentz qualifies for treatment
as a sexual predator or to conduct a
hearing to deterinine if he qualifies
for such treatment.
Barrett v. State, 28 Fla. L. Weekly
02237 (Fla. 2d DCA 9126/03)
Florida prisoner Peter Barrett
appealed his conviction for first
degree murder and claimed the trial
court erred in holding that section
775.051, Fla.Stat: (2002). was
constitutional.
.Section 775.051
became effective October I, 1999,
and eliminated voluntary· intoxication
as a defense to criminal charges.
Barrett
alleged
it
was
unconstitutional because it violated
his right to procedural due process
under the Florida Constitution.
Barrett argued that the statute
improperly excludes a class of
relevant evidence and lessens the

State's burden to prove his guilt
beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Second DCA rejected
Barrett's arguments and found the
statute does not violate due process
rights. The DCA found the statute
effects a substantive change in the
. definition of mens rea, and was not
simply an evidentiary rule. And
finally, the DCA did not find that the
Florida Constitution provided greater
protections to defendants than the
U.S. Constitution.

Concepcion v. State, 28 Fla. L.'
Weekly . 02292 (pla.SIll DCA
1013/03)

In this consolidated appeal,
Defendants Danny Cobb, Ariel
Concepcion, and Guillermo Fonseca
appealed their judgments and
sentences that were entered by the
trial court after a jury found the three
guilty of trafficking in cocaine in an
amount of 400 grams or more, and
conspiracy to traffic in cocaine.
. The DCA reversed the
judgments based on a fundamental
error committed by the trail court
~hile issuing its instructions to the
jury.
The Court held that the
submission of an improper written
instruction to the jury on the charge
of trafficking. which erroneously
used- conjunction "or" in place of
"and" before fourth element of the
offense, constituted fundamental
error. Further, the error was deemed
to have impacted the conspiracy
convictions as well since the jury
. was required to. consider the
trafficking instruction in determining
the issue of guilt on the.' conspiracy
charge.

Collier v. Slale, 28 Fla. L. Weekly
02375. (FIa.41h DCA 10/1S103)
Marion
Collier
was
committed to the Department of
Children and Family Services under
the Jimmy -Ryce Act.
Collier
appealed his commitment trial and
raised four issues, and the DCA
reversed on one of Collier's claims.
As part of his civil trial, Collier
requested, and was granted, a Frye

---------------17--------

_

--~----:--------- FLORIDA PRISON LEGALPerspect1ves - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

hearing· to address the admissibility·
Thornton v. State, 28 Fla. L. Weekly
01939 (Fla. 3nl DCA 8120/03) .
of the SVR·20 (Sexual Violence
Risk·20) assessment tool employed
The Third District Court of
by testifying expert witnesses to
Appeal reversed Henery Thornton's
evaluate his mental state. Dr. Peter
conviction for firSt degree murder
due toprosecutorial misConduct.' .
Bursten, psychologist, testified at
the hearing that he used SVR·20
In relevant part the' case
. when evaluating Collier but could
referred to a prior case the court
have evaluated him without using the
reversed
for
prosecutorial
tool. He additionally admitted that
misconduct; Jackson v. State, 421
SVR·20
is
considered
an
S.2d 15, 16 (Fla.3d DCA 1982).
Here the court reviewed the issue in
experimental method of recidivism
assessment to a degree, and that
a broader context and
serious
problem it· exemplifies": .. The case
some in the psychological· science
field question its use. . As a result.
reVealed that the" Third District alone
"has been faCed with a veritable
Bursten could not state thatSVR-20
had gained general acceptance in the
torrent of cases' which have similary
relevant 'scientific Community.
involved significant prosecutorial
.
The .DCA held that based , improprieties committed by assistant
partly on the state's use of SVR·20,
state attorneys". Numerous cases
the state failed to meet the burden of
were listed, dating as far back as
1979. The Jackson case stated ~f
demonstrating the general scientific
the "volume of these cases'acceptability of SVR"20. As a result.
Collier's
classification 'and
,including
multiple
of
commitment as· a "sexually violent
misconduct by particular prosecutors
- is so great that we can no longer
predator" under the Jiinmy Ryce"Act
was invalid
...
.
believe that they represent merely
isolated examples of understandable,

if inexcusable, overzealousness in
the heat of trial. Instead, wo. must .
suspect. however reluctant1y:~tthe'
improprieties may be deliberately
calculated to accomplish just what
representatives of the state cannot be
permitted -' inducing a jury to.
convict by unfairly prejudicing it
against the defendant. It is obvious
that this pattern of conduct cannot be
tolerated".

a

"the

[Note: Although he court is loath
even to Consider the possibility, some'
prosecutors believe that keeping a
convicted defendant in prison during
the often .Iengthy appellate process is
enough to chalk up a "win" for them
even if the conviction is later
reversed.·as] •

acts

The'"

'A Memoir

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In tbillWcepiJla, ~~autobiography, Miami native. Walliam Van Poyck - car
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 18 - - - - - ' - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

Persped1ves - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The information contained in this section is compiledfrom published Session Laws and may be useful t~ or imp,act Florida pr~oners.
This section is an information source designed to provide accurate information concerning the lates.t m ~/oTida .'aw.. Occ~slonally,
Legislative Watch will publish other items of interest related to Flo;ida's legislature such as upcommg btll~. leglslallve hlS~ory and
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NEW LAWS,
SESSION

2003

LEGISLATIVE

CRIMES AND OFFENSES
Sentencing - S.B. 2046 introduced by Senator Smith and
others passed. The bill amends section 921.16(3), Florida
Statutes, and ovenides the effects of Moore· v. Pearso!),
789 So.2d 316 (Fla. 2001), which the Florida Supreme
Court concluded the' Department of, Corrections must
recognize and apply coterminous sentencing' provisions as
modifications of sentence, even if such provisions cause a
stated sentence to expire prior to the 85 percent service
requirement found in section 944.275 (4) (b) 3, F.S•. This
new law states a county court or circuit court of this state
may not direct that the sentence imposed be served
coterminously with a sentence imposed in this state or of
another' state. The effective date of this Act is October 1,
2003.
Chapter 2003-128, Laws of Florida.
[Note:
Senator Rod Smith is a Democrat from
Gainesville. He represents the 14th District consistirig of
Alachua, Bradford, Gilchrist, Union, and parts of
Columbia, Levy, Marion, and Putnam Counties.]

Blpod Collecting - S.B. 1648 passed. The Act amends
F.S. 943.325 and 948.03 clarifYing that the local sheriff or
designee is responsible for collecting DNA specimens
from those offenders who are required to provide a sample
and who are not sentenced to incarceration by the court. It
also allows for the collection of approved biological
specimens other than blood for qualifying sex offenders.
The Act took effect July I, 2003.
Community Control - S.B. 428 "The Howard E. Futch
Community Safety Act" took effect July 1,2003. The Act
amends F.S. 948.10 and was introduced by Senator Smith
and others. The new law required D.O.C. to review and
verify whether an ineligible offender was placed on
community control by it judge and within 30 days after
receipt of the order, notifY the sentencing. judge, the state
attorney, and the attorney general that the offender was

ineligible for placement on community control. The
department must also provide quarterly reports to the
Chief Judge and the state attorney of each circuit citing the
number of ineligible offenders placed on community
control within that circuit. D.O.C. provides an annual
report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court on the placement of
ineligible offenders on community control.
Also, the department shall develop and maintain a
weighted statewide caseload. equalization strategy
designed to ensure that high-risk offenders receive the
highest level of supervision and develop and implement a
supervision risk assessment instrument for the community
control population which is similar to-the probation risk
assessment instrument established by the National
Institute ofJustice.
In the annual report to the Governor, President.of
the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives,
the department shall include a detailed analysis of the
community control program and the department's specific
efforts to protect the public from offenders placed on
cOmmunity control.· .The report will include the
, department's ability to meet minimum officer-UH>ffender
contact standards, number of crimeS committed by
offenders on community control, and the level of
community supervision provided.
Lastly, the department will study the use of
electronic monitoring and. its effectivenesS on the
community control population. For purposes ofthis study,
and notWithstanding section; 948.10 (2), the department
may adjust the maximun:J community control caseloads
when electronic monitoring is used. When completed, the
department will report its findings of the electronic
monitoring study to the Governor, President of the Senate,
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by
February 1,2004.
Law Enforcement/Correctional Officer - S.B. 1856
provides for the right of an officer to file suit against a
person who files a false complaint against the officer.
However, this does not create a. separate cause of action
against, an officer's employing agency for the
investigations and processing of a' complaint filed. It

-.;....;....-------.....;...-.....;...--19.;..,- - - - - - - - - - -

_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

requires the investigating agency to givo, the officer a ,copy
of the, comp~ete invaitigative .report and .supporting
documents,. upon request, and provide the officer an
opportunity to address thO findings of the repo~ before the
imposition .of .a disciplinary action consisting of a
suspension with loss of pay, demotion, or dismissal. The
contel)ts of the complaint and jnvestigations are ~ remain
confidential until the employing agency makes a final
determination to issue a notice of disciplinary action. It
extends the right to review complaints and statements
made by the complainant and witnesses against a law
enforcement or correctional officer to his or her legal
counsel or designated representative immediately prior to
the beginning of an ,investigative .interview when the
interview relates to the offi~ cOittinuect fitness for law
enfOrcement or correc~onal ~ce.,
Amends
112.532,.533. The effective date ,of this act is July 1,
2003.

J'lctims Freedom Act - H.D. 561' passed and amends
section 784.046, Fla. Statute. ., Effective July 1, 2003,
when a petition for injunction is fi1ed and if the re.sPOfldent
is in the custody of the D.C.C., the clerk of cOurt shall
furnish a copy of ~ pe,tition, notice of hearing, and
temporary injunction, if any, to D.O.C. and copies shall be
served upon the respondent as soon thereafter as possible
'on any day of the week and at ,anY time of the day or
nipl If the respondent in custody is not served· before his
or her release, a copy of the petition, notice of ~g,
and temporary injunction, if any, shall be forwarded to the
sheriff of the county specified in the respondent's release
plan for service.
.

PRISONS
Correctional Instltut/oTlS - As reported in our last issue of
FPLP, (Volume', Issue 5), the Legislature, in Special
Session "0", approved the appropriation of. almost $66
million to the DOC to increase the number of prison beds
sufficient to meet demand This act of Legislation took
effect, upon ~ng 'law when approyed by the
Governor on August 14, 2003. The new law amended
Section 216.292 Fla.. Stat., permitting the Governor to .
initiate prison construction under certain circu~.
The following is a portion of Section 2I6.292 as amended
showing how the money is to be spent.
Secti<m 3. (1) The following moneys and full time
equivalent (FTE) positions are appropriated to the DOC
for fiscal year 2003-2004:
(a) The sum of 517,519,607 from the General
Revenue Fund and 512 FTEs for salaries and
benefits.
(b) The sum of 55,341,956 from the General Revenue
.
Fund for expenses.
.
(c) The sum of $423,117 from the General Revenue'
Fund for operating'capital outlay.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 20

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - -

.Cd) 'The sumof:Sli774,790 from the General Revenue
Fund for food products., ,
i
(e) The sum of $48,871 from the General Revenue
Fund for food service and production.
(f) The sum of $445,842 from the General Revenue
Fund for salary incentive payments.
(g) The sum of $4,696,278 from the General Revenue
Fund for inmate health services.
,
(h) The sum ofSI,269,720 from the General Revenue'
Fund for fixed capital outlay for the reopening of
the Hendry Correctional Institution.
'
(i) .The sums of 510,000,000 from the General
Revenue Fund and 517,545,694 from the Orants
and Donations Trust Fund for fIXed capital outlay
for a new 1,38o-bed. annex at the Santa Rosa
Correctional Institution.
'(j) The sum of $4,811,856 from the General Revenue
Fund for fixed capital outlay for 14 new 131~bed,
open-bay dormitories.
(k) The sum of S2,OOO,000 from the General Revenue
Fund for fixed, capital outlay for planning and
permitting for a new '1,380-bed annex at the
Washington Correctional Institution.
(2) Operating appropriations provided in subsection
(1) are for the following purposes:
<a) Increasing staff and other resources necessary
to provide supervision and classification to a total of
'82,281 inmates."
.
(b) Increasing resources for food services, health
servi~, .utilities, and other variable .expenses for
average daily population of79,521 inmates.
(c) Providing for operational support staff and
other resources to reopen the Hendry Correctional
Institution and the South Florida Reception Center;· '
Chapter 2003-417, Laws of Florida. •

Prison Perspectives...
Women'in Prison
The nation had an average of 60 women in state or federal
prisons per 100,000 female residents· in 2002. The chart
below shows states with the highest rates of women inprison (per 100,000 female residents). Florida is not
among the highest and is shown only as a point of
reference.

OKlA

MISS

LA

Tl!XAS

IDAHO

ARIZ

FI.A
~-

Perspectives - - - . . ; . . . - - - - - - - - - ~traet, agreement, or other agreement, with any person,
other than a public 'bOdy. to provide for the 'care, custody,
or control~f individuals:" <letained and awaiting trial,
incarcerated for a crime, or under supervision as a result
of criminal activity." Existing contacts shall not be
renewed. 'The allowable exceptions. according' to the
pr0p0s8~, would provide 'for a ono-year contract where" a
public body can prove it could not timely hire additional
'employees or was required "to address an unanticipated
increase in the number of individuals required to be in the
care. custody, or control oftho public body." "
;" . The petition drive is being spearheaded by the
Public Sqfety and SeCUTity Initiative PAC, 300 East"
'Brevard St., Tallahassee. FL 32301. "'
'

FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

" ,Constitutional Amendment Effort
Launched to Bar:Florida's
Prison Privitization
by David Reutter,
The Florida Police Benevolent Association (PBA)
has launched a petition drive to enact an amendment to
Florida's Constitution that would b~n privatization of
prisons, jails, and offender supervision.
The PBA
represents over 30,000 law enforcement, corrections, and
probation officers.
The PBA started the drive following Governor Jeb
Bush's recent proposal for state legislators to provide an
emergency $66 million" to build new prison beds in
Florida. That proposal included a provision to set aside,
$15,000 to allow the Correctional Privatization
Commission, Florida's private prison oyersight group, to
take bids to build an 1,800 bed prison in Northwest
Florida.
"The PBA went ballistic" when it learned of the
,provision, said Sen. Victor Crist, R-Temple Terrace, one
of the bill's co-sponsors. While campaigning in July
2002, Bush pledged to the PBA that he would not seek
more private prisons. That pledge may have been victim
to political realities. In 2002, private prison companies
Wackenhut, Correctional Corporation of America, and
Cornell Companies, Inc., donated $274,000 to Florida
candidates and political parties.
Prison privitization has its critics 'in the Florida
Legislature. "The control of individuals who have had
their rights removed by the state is a public function, not a
private one," said State Rep. ~itch Needleman, a
Melbourne Republican and former law enforcement
officer. The PBA is also trying to enliSt the clergy's help
to get the constiiutional amendment proposal on the ballot
, next year, contending that the rehabilitation of prisoners is
a p~blic function. "We're abdicating that responsibility
. by giving it to a for-profit corporation that profits oft' the
mistakes of human beings," said PBA lobbyist Ken
Kopczynski.
.
Wackenhut says the PBA opposes private prisons
because their employees are not unionized. "It's purely
self-interest on their part," said Wackenhut lobbyist
Damon Smith. Wackenhut, which operates two private
prisons in Florida, has its own self-interest in maintaining
or increasing' revenues in its private prison division; 14
percent of that division's revenueS' came from Florida in
2002. responds the PBA.
Fourty-eight hours after the, PBA got wind of
Bush's privitization proposa~ the idea was dead. "At the
last minute, the governor wanted it out [of the' bill]." Crist
said. The PBA apparently wants to make sure it doesn't
get reintroduced again.
,The PBA's constitutional amendment proposal
would prohibit a public body from entering "into a

_________________ 21

"

Court Orders Hepatitis C
,. Re-treatment
'by David Reutter

A South Florida federal district court has entered a
permanent injunction requiring the Florida' Depamnent
Corrections (FDOC) and Wexford Health Sources, Inc., to
,a~mister re-treatment of Hepatitis· C and cirrhosis to
p~soner AI~en Brash. Brash had been previouslY. treated
~. InterferoJ,1 for his condition. His viral loads dropped
Significantly after hiS initial treatment, but lie still had the
virua and required ~treatmenl Before he could
, commence ~treatment, he 'was assaulted by three prison
guards and transferred to Okeechobee Correctional
;Institution.
Brash was then denied ~treatment by Wexford
after he was labeled a treatment failure. Wexford is a
private corporation based in Pittsburgh, PA, and' it is
devoted solely to servicing prisons and jails to generate its
profits. .CurrentlY, Wexford holdS the medical cOntract for
'the South Florida FDOC region.
After exhausting
~inistrative remedies, Brash filed sult" seeklDg treatment '
With Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin for his condition.
~.agi~te, JUd~e Lynch ~ended a preliminary.
IDJunctlOn be denied.
'.
',
District Judge Paine disagreed and entered"· a
preliminary injunction requiring Brash to be taken 'to a
gastroenterologist and be provided with whatever
medication the doctor recommended 'The doCtor
recommended re-treatment with "one of the new
Interferons. "
On July 24; 2003. the Court entered a permanent
injunction requiring that Brash be provided "one full
course of re-treatment with Pegylated Interferon and
Ribavirin."
To its credit, Wexford agreed to the
permanent injunction's entry. The FDOC. however.'
asserted its usual resistance and objected to the order. The
court retained jurisdiction to assure the order was carried
out and to determine attorney fees award. Brash was
represented by ,Randall Berg of· the Florida Justice
Institute. See: Brash v. Wexjord Health Sources, Inc.•
U.S. District Court, So. Dist. of Florida, Case No.: 0214331-Civ-Paine. •

of

- - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

PerspectIves - - - - - - - - - : - - - - - -

David W..ColHas, Attorney at Law
Fonner state prosecutor willi more dian 15 years of aiminallaw experience
"AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register ofPreemlncnt, Lawyers. ,;
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.Writs ofMandamus

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ttGran, TrIpp, KDrchaky. Hegp cases
.Jail time Credit Issues
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.Habituallzadcm Issues
.Probation Revocation issues

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FLORIDA PRISONER'S LITIGATION MANUAL
Legal Information on Prison Discipline, Mandamus and Appellate Review
A MUST HAVE LEGAL GUIDE FOR ALL FLORIDA PRISONERS

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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 22

_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

Florida' Prisoner's Death In
Vermont Sparks Legislative
Investigation
During November 2003, Vermont lawmakers said they
intend to investigate allegations against Department of
Corrections officials who allegedly retaliate against
prisoners and staff who file complaints and who fail to
follow proper policies, which may have contributed to
several sui~ides by prisoners this year.
Prisoner advocates, who have been calling for such an
investigation, became very vocal about .the problems
following the Oct. 7, 2003, apparent hanging suicide of
James Quigley,. a prisoner at the Northwest State
Correctional Facility in St. Albans. He was the fifth
prisoner to commit suicide in Vermont this year. ,
Advocates' allegations of widespread problems in the
state's prison system were repeated in a letter from· Sen.
Vincent lIIuzzi to VT Corrections Commissioner Stephen
Gold dated Oct. 30. The charges were discussed at a
meeting in Oct. Between a state legislative committee and
prisoner advocates.
Some of the allegations were scheduled to be discussed
further at a meeting of the Legislature's Joint Corrections
Oversight Committee in November.
Gold said he had read lIIuzzi's letter. " I find it deeply
troubling," he said. " I welcome. and plan to fully
cooperate ,with any investigation of the department." The
letter outlined four.main areas of concern:
~ Prisoner advocates have received a large number of
complaints regarding programming issues,· coercion and
inadequate medical ~d mental health issues;
• The failure of Matrix Health Systems to provide timely
and needed mental health services to prisoners suffering
from mental illness;
~ Failure of officials to properly apply DOC policy and
law to resolve prisoner grievances;
• Failure to promptly and impartially investigate
complaints against staff, thereby allowing the conduct in
question to continue with the added 'possibility of
retaliation.
The allegations "appear to be fact-specific cases that all
point to the same breakdown in either policy or contract
implementation." lIIuzzi. His letter to Gold also said that
advocates felt the Quigley case best illustrated the
.
problem.·
James J. Quigley,52, was serving a life sentence for a
Florida murder conviction. He had been transferred to
Vermont from Florida almost three years ago as part of a
lawsuit settlement deal with Florida prison officials. That
suit involved claims of widespread retaliation against
Florida prisoner law clerks who are assigned to help other
prisoners file grievances and legal challenges to their
sentences and convictions.

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Reportedly, after being sent to VT on an interstate
compact, Quigley got into an ongoing disagreement with
Northern State Correctional Facility Superintendent Kathy
Lanman about how to spend the· mon~y from. surcharges
on prisoner telephone calls. His complaints resulted in his
security level being raised from medium to high, causing
him to be placed in solitary confinement, lIIuzzi's letter
said.
A hearing officer subsequently found that a charge
against Quigley of wrongdoing was unsubstantiated, but
Lanman overrode that decision. Lanman then claimed he
was an escape risk because his parole date had been
moved back and because searching prison guards
allegedly found a map of Vermont in Quigley's cell that
had been torn out of a newspaper.
Barty Kade, an attorney and member of the Alliance
for Prison Justice, had visited Quigley just two weeks
before his death and said, " He wasn't a suicidal person."
Dade, complaining about Quigley's treatment in recent
months, said, "They were making his life as miserable as
possible. If it w~ suicide, they drove him to it."
Kade describer Quigley as a jail-house lawyer 'who
helped other prisoners with their cases. Often, Kade noied,
Quigley's work placed him at odds with prison ·staff. "He
was a pain in their butts."
Quigley's mother, Claire Quigley, said, "There's no
indication that [his] presumed 'suicide' was voluntary.
Over 118 days in the hole of inhumanity, a dark and cold
cell without adequate clothing, fresh air or exercise. His
abductors tomiented him with intense hostility!.. until he
was no longer responsible for his safety." She says sh,e is
filing a wrongful death lawsuit against those she holds
responsible for his death.
Ironically, shortly after Quigley was transferred to
Vermont in Feb. 2001, after striking a deal with Florida
prison officials to drop a lawsuit against that state's prison
syste,m, he wrote back to a friend in prison in Florida that
even though the Vermont system has its own set of
problems he was glad to get transferred there when he did
before prison officials in Florida had him murdered.
[Sources: The SI. A/bans (VI.) Messenger, 10/9/03, 1114/03;
Correspondence]

... --- -- -- .. ------- ._-.IN MEMORIAM .
James J. Quigley
Nov. 9, 1950 - Oct. 7,2003
James was known to so many in. the Florida
system, he will be sorely missep. We here at FPLP
will miss his valuable advice and participation in
the struggle we all are engaged in; he was our
friend. Our sympathy is extended to his family.·

---_. -. -- ---- --- -------_

23 - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORJDAPRISON LEGAL

,

:

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AL - On Sept. 8, 2003, it was , were investigating ,what caused the
reported that Alabama Gov. Bob
riot.
Riley said that if voters rejected his
$1.2 billion tax plan the state
FL - Two female prison guards filed
government
will
become
a lawsuit in Sept. 2003, against the
"dysfunctional" and as an added
Florida Department of Corrections
threat, .rejecting the plan would force
(FDOC) claiming they were
the release of 5,000 state prisoners.
pressured to .perform sex acts in
On Sept. 10. National Public Radio
exchange for favorable work shifts.·
reported that going to the polls voters
Lt. Felicia R. Sueher of Lawtey and
had rejected Riley's tax plan and . C.O. Karen A. Jones of Starke filed
further noted that Alabama's prison
the suit in the Fourth Judicial Circuit
Court in Duval County. The suit,
system· was already overcrowded and
the state has been housing the
seeking actual and compensatory
ovCrflow in privately owned prisons
damages, alleg~ that Suelter and
in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Jones were "subjected to a work
environment where terms and
conditions of employment, such as
AL - During October 2003, the
favorable work. shifts, were awarded .
Alabama state Personnel Board voted
to overturn the fU'ing of a guard
for sexual favors peiformed by
female
employees
on
male
accused of sexual misconduct at
Abibama's juvenile lockup for girls.
supervisors". Jones claims when she
JohMy Donald, 49, was reinstated by
refused to perform oral sex on a
Major to· get a shift change, he
the board. The Department of Y.outh
Services, which runs the facility and
allegedly told her, "I don't get what I
want, so you don't get what' you
which had fU'ed Donald, said it
would appeal the board's ruling.
want".
Donald's attorney said the girls who
[Source: Tampa Tribune, 9/27/03]
accused Donald lacked credibility.

FL - During Sept. 2003, FDOC
Capt. Jonathan Dawson, a prison
guard at Liberty Corr. Institution
located in Bristol, 3S miles west of
Tallahassee, was arrested and
charged with growing 82 marijuana
plants valued at more than $80,000.
Dawson was arrested after a threemonth joint investigation by the
Florida
Fish
and
Wildlife
Conservation Commission and the
Department of Law
Florida
Enforcement. Dawson was released
on a $500 bond after his arrest and
was place on administrative leave by
the FOOC.
FL - FDOC LL Daniel Cosson was
charged with perjury for lying about
attacking a prisoner. Cosson, who
worked at· Wakulla Corr. Institution, •
a state prison, allegedly made three
attempts to arrange attacks on a
prisoner at the FDOC facility. A
junior officer told officials that
Cosson talked to him about making
up excuses ,to sp~y the prisoner with
pepper spray and beat him.
[Source: AP,9/19/03]

AA - During November 2003, prison
officials in Arizona claimed they are
short 4,000 prison beds and need an
additional 16,000 beds to handle
expected new admissions. Private
prison
companies
immediately
jumped on the announcement and
have stepped up lobbying legislators,
saying they have. beds available to
solve the problem.· The Legislature
is expected to address the issue in a
special session.
CA - A prison riot during October
2003, at California's Pleasant Valley
State Prison. left one prisoner shot to
death by a prison guard. According
to prison officials,.the riot started in a
prison yard and quickly escalated to
involve 300 prisoners.
Officials

FL - A $1,000 honorary awardwas
presented to Abe Brown Ministries, a
Tampa-based prison ministry, during
Sept., 2003, by the University of
South Florida for sponsoring The
Reading Family Ties: Fac~to-Face
program. The program allows some
state prisoner 'mothers to spend time
reading to their children using
Internet vide<H:onference equipment.
The mothers must also attend .
parenting classes to participate in the
program.
The USF Award for
Nonprofit Innovation is awarded to
nonprofit organizations· that despite
limited financial resources are able to
expand and improve their services
through innovation.
[Source: Tampa Tribune, 9/11/03]

FL - Larry Curry, a former prison
guard at the Florida Institute for
Girls, pled' guilty to having sex with
two teenaged girls at the facility. He
faced 60 years in prison but
negotiated a plea deal for only S
The deal also
years probation.
includes a provision ,that Curry can
continue to work in similar positions.
His sex crimes were committed
,against a 14-year-old and an 18-yearold.
[Source: Tampa Tribune, 10/9/03]
FL _. Juvenile deaths in detention
centers are escalating and the State's
Department of Juvenile Justice isn't
contacting families when the deaths

24----------------

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

occur. According to Terri Mestre,
she was not told of her son's, Shawn
Smith's, death when he committed
suicide at the Volusia Co. Juvenile
Detention Center' on May 31, 2003.
Mestre told officials at the
department, "You are severely'
broken. Fix yourself now before any
more children die, anymore children
suffer." Danny Matthews, 16. died
after a fight ,with another teen at the
Pinellas Co. Detention Center. His
mother,
Diana
Matthews,
complained to state lawmakers that
no one from the department ever
contacted her to let her know her son
was dead. In fact, after she learned
of his death several days later· she
was warned by deparbnent personnel
that if she didn't pick up his body in
a timely manner they were going to
lu!ve him cremated and dispose of
the remains. State Rep. Gus Barreiro
said the department appears to suffer
,from lack of communication' and
accountability.
The' Select
Committee on Juvenile Detention
Centers began an investigation after
a series of deaths at the state's 25 '
juvenile lockups. Barreiro said the
committee
will
make
recommendations to the Legislature
on how some problems can be fIXed.

FL - A dozen or more correctional
officers at the Orange Co. Jail may
face charges of drug dealing, credit
card fraud and identity theft
following .a year-long investigation
into corruption at the jail by the FBI
and federal attorney general's office.
Some officers at the jail claim other
guards were providing drugs to
prisoners for sale to other prisoners
for fees up to $500. Jailhouse snitch
Marcus Evans, who provided
officials details about the credit card
fraud and identity theft, was moved
to the, ~eminole Co. Jail' for his
protection as investigations continue.

[Soun:e: Tampa Tribune, 10/9/03]

[Source: Orlando Sentinel, 10/03]

FL - Inadvertently, convicted child
molester Kevin Kinder, back from a
post conviction relief hearing from
prison, was placed in the same cell at
the Orient Road jail with one of his
victims, Jason E. Flores, from eleven
years ago. , Flores, now 22,
recognized Kinder and attacked him,
beating Ilinder unconscious. Flores'
mother, Judy Coronett, said it was a
fluke that they ended up in the same
place at the same time. "But think
about how [my son] feels. He was
finally able to confront Kinder and
fight back after 11 years. I think it's
damn therapeutic."

FL - Ronald Lawson was sentenced
to a plea deal of five years in prison
for his part in. the beating and
stomping death of l8-year-old
Others
prisoner C~ad Littles.
involved in the killing, Carlos King,
Nicholas Hulsey, Malachi Najair,
Larry K. Burks, and Jeremiah Hinsey
were also charged in the murder of
"Littles at the Bay Co. Jail. -

[Source: Tampa Tribune, 10/10/03]

[Source: Orlando Sentinel, 10/03]
FL - Eleven Miami police officers
went on trial for four shootiJ)gs.
Four of them were convicted, three
were acquitted, and four face retrials.
Federal prosecutors want II-year
sentehces for' the four who were
convicted but U.S. District Court
Judge Alan Gold rejected' that
recommendation·as too harsh. 'Gold
ruled the officers should be
sentenced to 3 years or less in federal
prison for planting guns on
defendants or covering up evidence
after police shootings.

[Source:
25/03]

Florida Star, 10/19 -

become more popular. The GA.
DOC said it needs to save $2.1
million next year to comply with
state budget cuts.

m - During Sept. 2003, a guard, Lia
OUone, at the Hawaii Youth
Correctional Facility was indicted on
a charge of raping a teenage girl at
the facility. A month later, during
October 2003, another guard' at the
same facility, Myles Manlinguis, was
indicted on a charge.of intimidating a
prisoner ~h1ess to influence his
testimony.
IA - On Sept. 9, 2003, the Des
Moines Register reported that Iowa is '
granting early releases to lower-risk
prisoners to ease the state's prison
overcrowding. , Paroles were granted
to 3,782 prisoners in the last fiscal
year, up 4.4 percent from the
previous year.

KS - On Sept. II, 2003, a jury
awarded' $1.4 million to the 8-yearold son of Donald Grishman,· a
prisoner killed by another prisoner in
2000. An attorney for the son cited
the poor supervision by John
Pfannenstiel, a former Basehor
mayor and former prison guard who
was sentenced in 2001 to a year of
probation for having sex with ~
prisoners, as contributing to the
murder.
LA - Prison officials in Louisiana
report that the number of elderly
prisoners is rapidly increasing, as is
the cost of their care.
Medical
problems common the middl~aged
and elderly can cost up to $70,000 a
year for each prisoner. The state
expects the. number of older
prisoners to grow by 15 percent by
, 2012.

[Source:
GA - On Nov. 3, 2003, Georgia
prison officials announced they are
clbsing some of the state's boot
camps as other sentencing measures,
such as probation detention centers,

APt 8/26/03]

L.,. -

A $6 million renovation of the
state's death row' and execution
facilities will add 59 more cells and
expand the witness area which

25 - - - - -..........- - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FlORIDA PRISON LEGAL

currently only allows 10 witnesses to .
executions:.

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . , ; , -

information but say a study of the
system. by the state. might be a good
idea.

[Source: USA TODAY, 9121~3]
MA - According to a recently
released study by the Massachusetts .
Public Health Association, MA
prisoners have one of the highest
rates of infectious disease in the U.S.
State prisoners have high rates of
Hepatitis C and the seventh-highest
rate of HIV infections in the nation.
Disease specialist say the high rate of
intravenous drug use in the Northeast
could be part ofthe. cause.
MD - During October 2003. the·
Maryland DOC said Baltimore's
supermax prison no longer fits in
with the department·s plans and
should be' tom down, this even
though the facility is only 14-yearsold. Officials said the facility, which
houses death-row prisoners and other
"hard-core" criminals, has no space
for counseling, drug treatment or
education services.
The prison's
current 290 prisoners may be
transferred to a new prison being
built in Allegany County.
MI - During October 2003, a 78year-old woman was robbed and
fatally shot in her home. Arrest
warrants were issued for her
grandson, John Robertson, 31, and
Robert Eckstein, 23, both exprisoners. Lillian Mae Ross was shot
in the neck late on 10/19/03 or early
on 10/20/03. Both Robertson and
Eckstein are from Flint and both
were released from prison in the past
year.
MT - A report released by the
American Bar Association in
October 2003, says that Montana's
system for dealing with juvenile
defendants assumes they are guilty.
The report noted that indigent
juveniles accused of a crime often
meet with court-appointed lawyers
for the frrst time only minutes before
going bef~re a judge. State officials
claim the report contains inaccurate

MT - Montana citizens began
flooding a media-funded Freedom of
Information hotline in October 2003,·
after the media published a statewide
survey of citizen access to public
records. Attorney John Shonte said
people didn't know about the law
giving them access to state
government records until the survey
was done. The survey .found that
some officials, especially county
sheriffs, illegally withhold public
records on a regular basis. '
Natiooal - Many prison wardens
across the u..S. are admitting that
nationwide prison budget cuts are
malUng prisons more dangerous than
they should be, reported Daniel
Meginn in an article in a recent News
Week entitled "Preying on the
Predato~." As prison staffing levels
have dropped due to budget cuts.
prisoner violence has increased. In
2000-200 I there were 42,000
reported
prisoner-on-prisoner
assaults, up 4 percent from the
previous year.
[Source: News Week, 9/8/03]
NC - During Sept. 2003, the
Cumberland
County
sheriff
suspended his chief jailer, Dan Ford,
for a week without. pay. Sheriff Earl
Butler said poor supervision is the
cause of recent problems at the jail.
Since the jail opened in February,
two prisoners have committed
suicide. .two jailers have been
accused of having sex with prisoners,
and another Jailer mistakenly
released two prisoners, one of whom
was a convicted felon.
NC - In October 2003, local
prosecutors asked the state to handle
the appeal of James Parker who was
convicted 12 years ago in one of the
state's biggest child sex abuse cases.
Parker was convicted in 1991 of
sexually assaulting four boys,

26----

primarily on the testimony. of~.
children.' Now the Charlotte
Observer has reported .that IS' .
reported victims or witnesses have
come.forward to say that the crimes
never happened or were not
committed by Parker.
NM - A fonner female prisoner of
the Grant County Detention Center
filed a lawsuit in October 2003,
claiming she was sexualfy assaulted
when newly promoted Lt. Danny
Udero removed her from her cell and .
forced her to have sex with him. The
complaint alleges a jail official was .
notified of the rape but rook no
action.
NM - In October 2003, NM DOC
prison officials said they wiil·start
treating prisoners for Hepatitis C,·
which infects approximately onethird ofthat state's prison population.
Treatment can range from SI 5,000 to
S30,000 per patient, but the DOC
says that's better than having to pay
$SOO,OOO for each liver transplant

OR - A man freed after being
wrongfully convicted agreed to a
S750,000 settlement with the state.'
Jimmy "Spunk" Williams, who spent
10 years in prison, said he would use
the money, the largest. such award
paid by the state. to take a vacation.
Williams' conviction was thrown out
when his alleged victim recar:ated her
testimony identifying him as the man
who raped her when she was 12years-old.
SC - In Sept. 2003, the SC DOC
announced it will ask lawmakers for
S50 million more next year to handle
an expected increase in· the number
of state prisoners. The department's
budget was cut S51 million in the
past three years, and it ran a $28
million deficit last fiscal year and is
projected. to have nearly a $12
million deficit this year.
SC - On October 27, 2003, State
Trooper Tony Caldwell. 37, and his
father, Eugene Caldwell, 56,' of
~

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

Perspectives

--------~---~-

Spartanburg, were arrested and
charged with selling crack cocaine.
TX - A former guard at a county
boot camp, Manuel Vera, was found
guilty o( misdemeanor official
oppression for manhandling a camp
inmate and plunging his head in a
toilet. The judge sentenced Vera to'
two 'years probation and ten '
weekends scrubbing toilets at the
boot camp. Hup, Two, Three, Four.
TX - In Sept. 2003, Larry Allen
Hayes became the ftrst white
prisoner to be executed for killing a
black person since Texas resumed
executions 2 I years ago. Hayes was
executed for killing his wife, Mary,
who was white, and a convenience
store clerk, Rosalyn Robinson, 18,
who was black. Hayes was the 310*
prisoner executed in Texas since
1982.
VA - According to a lawsuit filed by

three Virginia commody venders
against the VA DOC in Sept. 2003,
the Department of Corrections is
violating the law by allowing a
private company to use prisoners to
operate prison commissaries.' The
private St. Louis - based company
was awarded a contract to manage
the
state's
prison
canteens.
Trad~onally, the DOC has managed
the commissaries and chose venders
to simply purchase items through
competitive bidding.
WA - In October 2003, citing the
growing number of. sex offenders'
being imprisoned on McNeil Island,
the state bought a bigger, ferry. The
ferry, purchase for $875,000, will
carry guards and other traffic
between Tacoma and the island.
WI - Thirteen jail guards at the Rock
County
Sheriff's
Department
accused of using department
computers to view pornography on
the Internet are suing to block a
newspaper's access to records
concerning the incidents. It's the
first such lawsuit since Wisconsin's
public records law was revised in
2002. •

PLNRejectionsOv~rturned
lWlier this year the" .Florida . Department of
censoring Prison Legal News because

C~rreotion!i began

:,~,t,~~~bt~I;C,ames, .~d\l~ttisemeIit$ ·.for, (JQmpanies

offel'iJlgtoh~lp prisoners' :fipnilies<llI1d:fniends ,reduce

GdIl~.:caJ1 phone rates foraccepting.their incarcerated
: 'll»led':'>J1es' ·pho.ne oalls. {Re,ported.on·in FPLP Vol. 9,
.·lS!t 3.):1n 'Iate:@et•. '03, as soon as PLJrsattotneys filed·.
',' suit~inst the, censorship,the ..E)QC ab.,.ptlyrevem:d
.co.urse.andovertumed all of the '~J~tiop. deQildons of
~ P,f,N.Jt is. Jiot:clear 8$ of :tliiswritiIig 'how the DQC
,.f~tends to deliver' thewitlihelcrissues of PLN to'prisoner
; ::,~libscrjbers: ~inc~ nee ,'rules ,proy,ide 'censored
publications must 'be sent home by prisOners or the
"'PUblications will be disposed of by the institution 30·
,~&.ys after any administrative appeals become final.
. The DOC has also notified FPLP staff that the
. ,~~plJff.lJ1"nt intends to ~review the rejection of FPLp,
'Vol. 9, Iss. 3, that hadreported.onthePLNrejeetions
,.....d infonnedprisoners' families and, friends how they
.CQuld set up an alternative calJing sYstem to avoid the
':high rates of prison collect phone .calls. No· word yet
,from the DOC on the outcome ofthatre-review. We'll
:keep.readers illfonned'on th,ese,matters.asthey proceed.

TY,P IN G
S'ERVICE
Computer - Typewriter
Transcribing
ALL KINDS OF TYPING
Including but not limited to:
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Phone: 407-579-5563

27 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORiDAPRlSON LEGAL'Perspectives

'Attention
P4\role-EUgible'Prisoners
0

On May I, 2003, FPLAQ launched the
Parole Project to expose the corruption within the
Florida Parole Commission, and to work towards
increasing the number of parole releases and to
reduce the number of technical violations. Since the .
Project started, former Chairman Jimmy Henry has
been forced to resign and he has been charged with·
numerous criminal offenses. In addition, four other
top officials in the FPC have been forced to resign'
and corruPtion has been exposed throughout the
system. As the Parole Project continues there is much
more that is going to come to light about the FPC, if
the Project receives the support it needs from paroleeligible prisoners and their families and friends. So
far, several hundred parole-eligible prisoners have
joined the Project and. sent in the minimal financial
support requested. Those prisoners' outside
supporters have' been .contacted and many have
joined the Project and made donations. However,
many letters to outside supporters have gone
unanswered and those people need to be reminded
how important this project is and how their support is
needed - right now.
There are also a few thousand parole-eligible
prisoners remaining ~ho have not joined or sent
support to the Proj~ct. Those are the ones who have
given up, or think they will miraculously receive
parole if they continue to act like a mouse in their
holes, or those who are so negative they don't believe
in anything anymore, or who are so institutionalized
they are afraid to even support 'something that will
benefit them. Before the Parole Project started, few,
if any, parole-eligible prisoners would have believed
the corruption within th°e FPC could ever be exposed,
much less that the very chairman would be charged
with criminal offenses. And there is much more to
come, changes will be made, but it cannot be done
without the participation and support of all paroleeligible prisoners and their families and friends.
Now is' the time. All we need is YOUR
. minimal support. You can either be part of the
solution or part of the problem. There is a lot
remaining to be done; you are invited to be a part of
it. To join the Parole Project, contact:

--------------

,Parole-eligible Prisoners with
Suspended PPRD Dates
As of June 30, 2002, out of Florida's 5,514 paroleeligible prisoner population 423 prisoners had their
Presumptive Parole Release Dates (PPRD) suspended
indefinitely by the Parole Commission pursua~t to
the "Extraordinary Review" provisions of Rule 2321.155, Florida Administr~tive Code.

0

o

FPLAO,lnc.
Parole Project
Post Office Box 660-387
Chuluota, FL 32766

Source: Florida Parole CommissIon Statistics
Chari by FPLAO Parole Project

The very, purpose of the First Amendment is to
foreclose public authority from assuming a
guardianship of the public mind through regulation
the press, speech, and religion. In this field every
person must be his oWn watchman for truth, because
the forefathers did not trust any government to
separate the true from the false for us....Nor would I.
Robert H. Jackson 1945

Corrections & Clarifi~a.tiQns
FPLP is committed to accurflte reporting.

Contact our staffto report pe1Jceived'efrors.
In the last Issue of FPLP, VoJ.9,lss. S:1n tbefront-pag8
, '.lU'ticle "Lockup Hotel: Florida's Growing PrIsOn· Complex."
Second paragraph, .the FDOC annual budget was incorrectly
stated to be 1.7 million dollars. The FDOC's annual budget is
actually over $1.7 bill/on. We apologize for the typo.

28·------

~~--~

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

Flashback: DOC Yesteryear
: 'by oscar Hanson.
In part one of this study on the' Department's history our
readers were given the intrigui~g details of how the
Department evolved into one of the largest prison
complexes in the nation. Our study picks up where we left
off.
Like today, in the early thirties Florida prisons held highprofile inmates, one of them was Giuseppe zangara, who
attempted to assassinate President-elect .Franklin D.
Roosevelt in Miami in February 1933. He shot 'at
Roosevelt and missed, instead mortally wounding Chicago
Mayor Anton Cermak, who was traveliug with Roosevelt.
Zangara was executed in the electric chair approximately a
month after his trial (unlike today when appeals can take
years to end before an individual may be executed).
Interestingly, in 1935 prisoners began producing
. cigarettes at ~ factory in Raiford. From that time until 1972
the tobacco was distributed in pouches along with rolling
papers. The brand was called "Dee Cee Smoking
Tobacco." After 1972 the state switched to rolled
cigarettes until the practice ended in 1978, due to
increasing knowledge about ~ealth risks. (It is interesting
to note that there is little concern about health now because
cigarettes are readily sold in the inmate canteens.)
By the end of the 1930s, lawmakers ordered prisons to
dis~ntinue dressing inmates in horizontally striped prison
uniforms. Glades C.I. was established in 1932 as Florida
Prison Farm #2. Inmates were sent from Florida Prison
Farm # I in Raiford to grow fresh vegetables for state
institutions. In 1951 it was renamed G1~des State Prison
Farm. In 1961 it became Glades C.I. housing adult males.
The 1940's brought continued change within the prison
system. In 1941 the Parole Commission was established
and in 1943, in an effort to support the war effort, inmates
addressed and mailed ration books to Florida citizens.
They donated $12,000 toward the purchase of war bonds.
In 1945 the Department eliminated the use of leg irons.
By the end of the decade, an increasing awareness of
.specialized populations led to a new facility for youthful
offenders, Apalachee CI in Sneads. ~even years later, in
1956, the first adult female facility, Florida CI, opened in
Lowell. Before Lowell, women were housed at Raiford.
Big Pine Key, Copeland and Loxahatchee Road Prisons
and the Gainesville Work Camp were among· the other
institutions established at that time. Until 1957,
responsibility for corrections in Florida had been divided
among three state agencies: Agriculture, State Institutions
and the State Road Department. The laws related to
administrating the penal system had last been codified in
1899, and over half the original sections remained
unchanged. Therefore, lawmakers adopted a new.
Correctional Code, which provided for the Division of
Corrections, under the control of state institUtions. Avon
Park C. I. opened and C.O. Culver was appointed the first
director ofthe Division ofCorrections.
During this time, lawmakers believed that prisons could
provide useful opportunities for preparing people to return
to society as law-abiding citizens. The system emphasized
rehabilitation and self-improvement (my how we have
gotten off course from that ideology). Inmates were

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

expected to make good use of their time, accept
responsibility for mistakes. they made in their lives, and
take academic and vocational courses to raise their
earnings potential after theiqelease.
.
In the late fifties. the use of sweatboxes ended and
Florida State Prison Work Camp was establish~d. The state
also saw the addition of a male unit at Florida CI,
Apalachee CI West Unit, Marion Cl and Caryville Work
Camp. What is known now as Florida State Prison was
constructed with a new execution chamber in 1961. It was
designed as a maximum-security prison to house adult
male inmates at all custody levels and remains the same
today. This facility became known as Florida State Prison
and "The Rock" was named Union Correctional
Institution.
Marion C.I. was established in 1959 and was designated
as Florida C.l. Men's Unit designed as a support unit for
Florida C.I. Main Unit, a female facility. In 1976 it became
a separate' facility~ Over time it changed names from
. Marion C.I. to Lowell C.I. but remains MarionC.I. today.
Prison administrators determined that extra money in
prisoners' pockets created extra problems within the
system, so in the early 19605 Florida established prison
canteens. The canteens helped to use up extra money in the
prison~rs' possession. and also' .provided visitors with
refreshmen~. By the 1970s 'canteen sales reached more
than $1 million per year.
In 1963, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision put
Florida's prison system on the map. Fifty~ne'-year-old
Clarence Gideon was arrested,charged, and convicted of
breaking and entering a pool hall. Gideon, without the
assistance of benefit of counsel, was then sentenced to
prison. He appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in a
far-reaching decision the court guaranteed those charged
with a. felony the right to an attorney, whether .they could
afford one. or not. As a result of that ruling, Florida
established a statewide public defender system.
Gideon again appeared befo~ a judge,. this time with a
court-appointed lawyer, and found hims~lf acquitted.
Gideon's Triumph. a book published in 1964 by Anthony
Lewis, chronicled. the decision, and Henry Fonda starred in
the television version. Time magazine listed Gideon vs.
Wainwright as one of the telT most important legal events
of the sixties.
'.
Florida continued to make strides in the correctional
business by becoming the first state to tile for.accreditatlon
with the American Correctional Council in 1968. That year
the first state inmate began work release and' Desoto
Correctional Institution opened its doors.
In 1972 the United States Supreme Court decided the
case of FUrJ11an v. Georgia, which held that capital
punishment was unconstitutional and struck down state
death penalty laws nationwide. As a result, the death
sentences of 95 men' and one woman on Florida's Death
Row were commuted to life in prison. However, after the
Furman decision, the Legislature revised the death penalty
statutes in case the court reinstated capital punishment. In
1976 the Supreme Court overturned its ruling in Furinan
and upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty in the
'case of Gregg vs. Georgia. Executions resumed in Florida
in 1979 when John Spenkelink became the first Death Row
inmate to be executed under the new statutes.

29 - - . ; . - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - FlORIDA PRISON LEGAL

Among the many correctional institutions that sprung up
during that decade were Cross City, Lake, Broward,
Lawtey, Zephyrhills, Polk. Baker and River Junction.
Other facilities were opened such as Quincy Vocational
Center. During this period there was serious overcrowding
problems that forced DOC officials to house inmates in
temporary tents at North Florida Reception Center located
in Lake Butler, Florida.
Sumter Correctional Institution was established in 1965
to ,house minimum and medium custody male youthful
offenders. Currently it houses adult male inmates. In the
early days, Sumter was known as a "gladiator" camp for
the young thugs entering the prison system.
In 1972 the Legislature provided funds to convert an
abandoned Air Force Base into a correctional facility.
Cross City C.I. was established as an educational facility,
housing minimum and medium custody inmates. Later it
became a mainstream prison housing adult male inmates.
Lake C./. was originally established as a migrant labor
camp, but more recently housed a bait farm and a beverage
distribution warehouse. In 1973 it was converted to house '
adult mal e inmates.
In an effort to address the problem with inmate idleness
and to capitalize on inmate labor, the Legislature
established the Interagency Community Service Program
to provide free inmate labor to counties, cities and
municipalities.
In 1975, the Division of Corrections merged with the
field staff of the Parole and Probation Commission to form
the Department of Offender Rehabilitation. The 1970s
continued to see an increase in the prison population ,and
tents were put up to 'house the inmates. The Courts once
again became involved, stating that prisons could not keep
inmates in such inhumane living conditions. The prison
population increased to 11,236. As a consequence, inmate
Michael V. Costello filed the Costello vs. Wainwright
lawsuit, focusing his grievances on the issues of
overcrowding, poor food, sanitation and inadequate health
care. The lawsuit was settled in 1993 based on the
Department's apparent compliance with the settlement
decree.
In 1978, the Depanment of Offender Rehabilitation
became the Florida Department ofCorrections.
In 1981, the Legislature established Prison Rehabilitative
Industries and Diversified Enterprises (PRIDE), a nonprofit corporation that put inmates to work and gave them
marketable job skills, helping them find jobs upon release.
In 1983. Okalossa Correctional Institution opened and
The Legislature passed the first sentencing guidelines and
eliminated parole for offenders sentenced after October I,
1983. with some exceptions. The prison population in June
1980 was 19,722.
New River-West C.J. was established in 1987 from the
merger -of two former satellites of the Reception and
Medical Center. Butler Transient Unit is now the West
Unit and houses adult male inmates.
In the 1980s the drug war was taking hold of the United
States and corrections across the nation began a rapid
growth. As the prison population skyrocketed, more. tents
were erected and a special session of the Legislature
'appropriated funds for additional prison beds.
Administrative Gain time was implemented to relieve

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - overcrowding. However, by the following year.
Provisional Release Credits replaced Administrative Gain
Time, which had tighter restrictions for eligibility. By
1989 the inmate population expanded to more than 38,000.
Three years later the number of prisoners mushroomed to
47,000. The Gainesville and Brooksville Drug Treatment
Centers opened in 1992, since many offenders being
admitted into the system had drug offenses. Later, state
lawmakers authorized funding for more than 27,000 new
prison beds and revised the sentencing guidelines for the
first time since 1983.
In 1995 the Legislature implemented the' Stop Turning
Out Prisoners legislation requiring offenders to serve a
minimum of 85 percent, of their sentences. Prisoners who
entered the system with life sentences had no possibility
for parole. That same year six inmates escaped from
Glades Correctional, prompting a statewide overhaul and
implementation of physical security, including metal
detectors, razor wire and radios. During this period the
inmate population was near 62,000.
As a new century approached, an important part of
Florida's prison past disappeared. "The Rock" at Raiford,
which shut down' its doors in 1985, was demolished in
1999. That same year the Legislature convened a special
session and added the choice of lethal injection for
prisoners on death row.
In recent history, the Department ,has made some major
changes in the administration of its giant prison complex,
most notably the creation of close management units
designed to house inmates in 8x 10 cells for up to 23 hours
a day. This new type of incarceration was quickly labeled
"warehousing," and prison advocates have questioned the
healthiness of this type of treatment citing both physical
and psychological problems.
In 1999, the Legislature implemented the Three Strikes
for Violent Felony convictions. which provides that upon
an offender's third violent conviction he shall receive a
minimum mandatory sentence of life in prison. Also,
passed was the Governor's anti-erime legislation 10·20Life, which creates minimum mandatory sentences for
possession, discharge, or injury when a firearm is ,used
during the commission of a felony. As a result of these
tough sentencing laws the inmate population climbed to
over 71,000 in the year 2000.
In more recent history, the Department of Corrections
has continued to grow into one of the largest prison
complexes in the nation, second only to California and
Texas. This year the Legislature sacrificed education,
health care and other social services for Florida citizens in
order to approve a $69 million dollar budget for the
construction of more p~ison beds. including 14 new
dormitories at various prisons across the state and
construction of new facilities in Washington and Franklin
counties. Also included in the allocation was funding to
complete a 1.200-bed close management unit adjacent to
Columbia·C.I., a IAOO-bed annex at Santa Rosa C.I.• and
renovation funding to reopen HendryC.1. By the summer
of 2004, the Department expects to. have over, 83,000
prisoners in custody.
[Source: 1999-2000 DOC Archival Study; Florida Session
Laws, 2003)

'30---------------

FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL

Perspectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

", , I

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-I. Please Check '" ODe:

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _-:OC#

CJ Membership Renewal

_

Name
CJ New Membership

AgencylLibnuylInstitution 10rW

2. Select ~ Category
Address "

CJ SIS Family(Advocate/lndividual
C S9 Prisoner

City

State

Zip

CJ $30 Attom8yslProfessionais
Email Address and lor Phone Number

C $60 Oov't AgenciesILibrariesiOrgsJetc.

rr Pleasemab au checb or money onIcrs payable to: Florida Prisoners' LcpI Aid Orpnbatfon, Inc. Please complete the 8bove fOrm lIIId saul It
wf1h the IIld1catccI membership dues or subscription amount to: Florida Prlsollln 'upl Aid OrganlzilIIon Inc., P.O. BOI1t 66{}'381, CIaIlIlOI4, FL
32766. For fluni1y members or loved ones ofPJarida prisoners who are \lJl8ble to afford tho basic mciDbcrsbip dues, all)' col11ribution Is acceptable
fer IIICIIlbcnbip. New,lIIlUIed , US posUIp sumps are acc:Cp1ahlc from prisoners for mcmbcnhlp dues. McmbcrshIps lUll one year.

,

c::rr Please make all checks or ~oney orders payable to: Florida Prisoners' Lep! Aid Organization. Inc. Please complete the above form and send it
with the indicated membership dues or subscription amount to: Florida Prisoners' Legal Aid Organization Inc.• P.O. Box 660-387. Chuluota. FL
32766. For family members or ioved ones ofFlorida prisoners who are unable to afford the t;asic membership dues, any contribution is acceptable
for membership. New. unused. US postage stamps are acceptable from prisoners for membership dues. Memberships riln one year.

Prison Perspectives...

If so, please complete the below Information and mail it to FPLP so
. that the mailing list can be updated:

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PRISON LEGAL NEWS

SUBMISSION OF MATERIAL TO

. FPLP
. Because of the ILUge volume of mail being
received, ·financial considerations, and the
in:lbility to provide individualleglllllSsistance.
members should not send copies of legal
documcnts of pending or potential cases to
FPLP without having first contnctcd the stafT
and rc:cciving directions to send same. Neither
FPLP, nor its
an: responsible for any
unsolicited material sent
Members arc requested to continue sending
neWS infonnation. newspaper clippings (please
include name of paper. and date),
memorandums. photocopies of fmal decisions
in unpublished cases. and. potential articles (or
~ publication. Plc3Se send· only copies of such
materiill that do nol hllve to be returned. FPLP
depends on YOU. its readcts and members to
keep infonncd. Thank you for )'Our
cooperation and parliciplllion in helping to gel
lh.: nl:WS out. Your efforts lin: greatly
llppreciated.

stan:

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\

Pruon ugol Nnu is Ii 36 page ~Jy lnlJguiRC which has
been publislH:d sin= l~. It is ediled by Washington state
prisoner Paul Wright Each issue is ~ wi1h S1ZIDJ1IlWs
and analysis or rec:cnt court dmsions'fi'om uourul the country
dC3IiIlS with priSOflcr riohb QfId written tiom a prisoner
pcrspcctivc. The magazine often carries articles &om
anorneys Givins how-tO liligalion adv;sc. Also inclad:d in
each issue 1ft news IlI1iclcs dealing wlth prisonoreI4ted
sttugglc and llCtivism &om the U.S. =d around the world.
AMualsubscriprion rales lU'e SI8 fer priscners.lfyou ClU\'(
1UJ'0fd 10 send SIS at ence, saul as IClIJ1 $9 and PLN will
prorate the issues 11 SI.50 cacll for a six moll!h subscription.
New and unused possagc stamps or cmboucd cm'dopes may
be used lIS p:lyment.
FOT non-incarcerated individuals, the yendy subsaipticm
rate is S2S. Instituticmnl Of proressionaJ (l1Itamcys, tibmics.
govamncnl agencies. orgllIIizaticns) subsciipticm nItes are
S60 a year. A samp!e copy or PLN is availa1lte for $1. To
subscribe to PLN, CQIItact:
Prison Legal Nnt¥J
].100 NW 80th Slnel
PMB 1./8
Sctzttlc, WA 98/17

see PUIs Website at:
http: www.prl.fUlllcgalllewJ~org

If so, please complete the below information and mail it to FPLP so
tbat tbe mailing list can be updated:
NEW ADpRESS (pLEASE PRINT CLEARLY)

Name
Inst.

Address
Zip

State

City
~Mall

to: FPLP. P.O. BoK 660-387. Chuluota. FL 32766

EmallPLHat
M.-ebmtWcr@l'ruonlego!news.org

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