Harold Hempstead blew the whistle on the Florida Department of Corrections, when he told the Miami Herald about the horrendous torture Darren Rainey had to endure before he was killed by guards at Dade Correctional Institution.
Rainey was serving a short stint for a minor drug offense when he was caged in a shower while boiling hot water scalded his body for hours until the skin peeled off of him. He died.
Although there were plenty of witnesses, the Miami-Dade state attorney ruled it an accident and didn’t prosecute the guards. For those who have been through the Florida criminal justice system – there are no surprises there!
Hempstead was eventually transferred to a prison in another state in an effort to censor him, but he’s not going to let Rainey’s death or the horrors of the Florida Department of Corrections go that easily. He is releasing a self-published book which this article describes as a portrayal of “a life lived in the pit of hell.”
READ MORE and please share with your legislators.
Here is the link to the official FDOC report of the inmate’s murder I mentioned in my first post in this forum. It’s heavily redacted in some areas making a true picture of events nearly impossible. Also, don’t read if you have a weak stomach or heart. Nobody deserves to die like that:
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/mortality/PDF/165229.pdf
@Everyone
I went through the system a few years ago. I agree with about 80% of what I read in this article as I read it in its entirety. What I strongly disagree with and could be the unraveling of an otherwise well documented book is the “Allowing known Sexual deviants to touch children in the Visitors Park”. This is a Gross mudslinging towards the RSO community and I am intrigued that no one else commented on this within this community. DOC highly monitors visitation within their Grounds (in my experience).
Overall, I have personally had to deal with a ridiculous amount of PTSD and firsthand witness to atrocities committed by those in authority during my time incarcerated. Whereas I agree this is a good writing I don’t believe that stating blanket statements as hard facts for all facilities based on really bad experiences with a handful of facilities.
What is true is that there needs to be reform because the things that stay constant throughout all facilities are: Corruption, Lack of accountability (Good ole boy system), Lack of Humane treatment of all persons, Implement programs for societal reintegration.
The list is broader but this would be a fantastic start.
Anon for now
I have to agree with Anon in regards to the author’s recollection of sex offenders being allowed to touch children at the visitation park.
The DOC has a policy in place that does not allow sex offenders to have a child visit them if their sex offense was against someone under 16. So the author is suggesting that sex offenders were being allowed to touch other visitor’s children. I find this very hard to believe for many reasons that I don’t need to explain. I spent at least a weekend per month in a DOC visitation park for close to 4 years and never once saw any such behavior. Because my offense involved someone over 16 my three children visited me often and never once did anyone attempt to even talk to my kids.
I also read the entire article. I have no problem believing everything in it, based on my own experiences, besides the part about the visitation park.
I would love to see more of this post, but my computer is monitored and anytime I wish to have information or go to a website my PO who handles and reads all my emails offers up-or rather causes my computer to disallow information or websites they disapprove of by getting my browser to offer a message that says “the file cannot be downloaded because of a lack of connection”, but there’s nothing i myself have put in place on my computer has such an instruction. Nevertheless, Florida prisons are not the only ones in these United States where things like this post happen. I was at Elkton when something very similar happened not once but TWICE while I was there. To be sure I did not personally witness such an event, but inmates assigned to clean up staff offices overheard a couple of guards and other staff talking an awful lot about these incidents after the fact. Another place is at the metro lockup opposite the prison at Englewood, CO located actually in Littleton, CO. I was sent there in the spring of 2014 and witnessed a couple of guards refuse to stop a really viscious fight between two inmates at the Metro detention center, and made no move to call for backup to stop it.
Good Harold Hempstead! Expose them all ! The people, the system, everything and everybody.
I’ve seen it all too. A guard shoves a confined inmates food tray off on the floor and tells him. “If you’re hungry, you’ll eat it.” Another goes to the cell of a guy who is already mentally screwed up and yells at him that his mother is a crack ho that he’s been visiting which triggers a wild rage in the poor guy. This abuse went on for at least an hour. One guard took me aside and threatened me there in the gate shack saying he could just “whip your old ass and nothing would be done about it. ” I just stood silently because the fool didn’t know that he was talking to a 2nd degree black belt who was already considering just how fast and badly I could put him down. (This was all at Gulf C.I.) And anyone wonders why we hate them so much?
Disgusting what is going on in these prisons. They all get what is coming to them at some point eventually.
Glad Mr. Hempstead is becoming a voice for everyone to hear and those who let this happen be held accountable very harshly.
I commend Mr. Hempstead for standing up for those who are suffering abuse at the hands of the Florida DOC.
Prison reform has been needed in Florida for decades; I am hoping that his book will open the eyes of those who have the power to bring about change and cause them to act.
I am sad to say some people don’t care because it did not happen to them or a love one.. but they sure in hell go to the movies and eat,drink and cheer for the horror for what was describe. Sometimes I dread going out my front door knowing the sick,twisted world we live in that judges people based on a flier but yet the same judges do more sick,perverted acts to fellow humans then those on a useless Registry
Something needs to be done NOW, Things are “Getting Way Outta Control” !! Some days we think things are “Starting To Relax”, Then we get reminded with horrible acts like This, That things are getting WORSE !!!. Considering that this country was formed by a bunch of “Criminals ejected from Britian” I can only imagine what things will grow to if SOMETHING ISNT DONE AND QUICK !!!!. Now we have “County Sheriff’s “Locking Up People” that aren’t in prison !!. God only knows what else he will do later, And now that he’s started his own form of “Justice” Who else will start there’s ????????. I sure wish I had the money to move away to a state out west that isn’t as “EVIL AS THE SOUTH” !!!!. I wanna move up into the mountains away from EVERYONE !!. Pray for a change, But do what you can while praying !¡!!!!!!.
Luckily I survived my prison sentence, but many others at my “camp” didn’t. One was purposely put into a cell with a known “child molester” killer. He was brutally beaten to death by his “cellmate” over at least a period of one hour “before the guards could get to him.” No charges were filed against the prison oaficials who placed him in that cell or who were “on guard” that day. Meanwhile a family has to bury their son.
Corruption starts at the top in Floriduh. Until we get a governor with a backbone who can’t be swayed by the riches of the prison industrial complex (and the bookends), things will never change. Floriduh remains an anomaly in these United States. Third in population, it ranks near the bottom in every category dealing with common sense and human rights.
Those who can vote do so and encourage others. Those who can’t, do the research for those who can. Too often in Floriduh the illiterate electorate has continued to elect “tough on crime,” politicians who lack common sense and compassion.