The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a federal civil rights investigation into sexual misconduct by correctional officers as well as other abuses against women at Lowell Correctional Institution in Central Florida.
The investigation comes after years of complaints by inmates and activists, who organized in the aftermath of a 2015 Miami Herald investigation, “Beyond Punishment.’’ The series included interviews with more than three dozen former and current inmates at Lowell who described being forced to have sex with officers just to obtain basic necessities such as soap, toilet paper and sanitary napkins.
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/florida-prisons/article216307325.html#storylink=cpy
The U.S. Department of Justice Community Meeting on Lowell Correctional Institution, Sunday Aug. 19, 4-6 p.m., Marion Baptist Association, 1520 NE 14th St., Ocala, Fla. 34478. For more info, call 833-341-4676 or email [email protected]
How does the state of Florida think these people will ever become productive members of society. Most of the people in prison are there for non violent crimes and the crimes committed against them are violent. All staff committing crimes against any inmate should be fired and prosecuted according to the law just like the inmate. 2 wrongs don’t make a right. These prisons are missing a really good learning opportunity. You can make a difference in a person’s life. Help them become a success instead of a failure. I had a brother in prison and the things he told me you would think this is China.
Excellent reply Lc..the corruption throughout Florida is incredible but people just turn a blind eye.
All those correction officers should be arrested and branded as SEXUAL PREDATORS.
I would also caution that the officers shouldn’t be assumed to be guilty just because there were accusations. Too many people go to prison on just the word of one accuser, without any other evidence to back it up. When lawsuit money is a possibility, phony accusers also show up. No one should be branded as a sex offender for life either. That’s what this forum is about. If you are found guilty, you should be permitted to live a normal life without extra persecution once you have served your time.
Good luck getting Floridians to believe it. I ended up in an argument on news journal site because I said that jail prison food is labeled not for human consumption which is true. I was called delusional and all kinds of crap by an upstanding retired Florida prison guard. They stick their heads in the sand and won’t even look at proof Ive never seen any place else like it.
Most people don’t understand the seriousness of such actions by correctional officers. It is legally impossible for an inmate to consent to sex with an officer. Coercion is assumed automatically. It is rape, pure and simple. Male inmates don’t even report such incidents because they are so desperate for any kind of affection. Even when accusations are made, the prison officials just sweep it under the rug, and prosecutors are rarely involved. While I was on parole, I shared a halfway house with two other parolees. It was discovered by our parole agent that one of the guys was sneaking his girlfriend in late at night for sex. It was also discovered that she was a prison guard who had entered into a relationship with him at the last prison where he was incarcerated. The parole agent told me that she was going to lose her job and be prosecuted for it, and be placed on the sex offender registry as well. It didn’t happen. It never hit the news. I don’t know if she lost her job over it, but I had seen over the years that prison employees are transferred to another facility when they get in trouble, and the whole matter is effectively swept under the rug.