We see it happen all the time. After a high-profile misdeed happens, politicians implement a knee-jerk reaction that doesn’t punish the wrongdoer but punishes those having nothing to do with his or her misdeeds.
Friday night, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw put a stop to the inmate work release program pending further review.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, “Epstein spent 13 months in the county stockade during 2008-2009 as part of a once-secret plea deal widely criticized as being too lenient. About 3½ months into his sentence, Epstein was allowed to spend up to 12 hours a day, six days a week, working out of a downtown West Palm Beach office.”
The are assigning a 32-member panel to investigate.
Really Palm Beach County?!?!? You need to waste time and money on a 32-member panel to try and figure out what happened? The world knows what happened! The wealthy and politically connected use their resources to get preferential treatment. That’s how the criminal justice system works in the United States. In this case, Epstein paid the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office $128,000 during the time he was locked up there.
So now other inmates will be punished because of this?
The US Department of Justice – National Institute of Justice states, “The goal of the Florida Work Release program is to improve the recidivism outcomes of individuals reentering society from prison. The program provides a structured reentry environment to allow incarcerated persons nearing the end of their sentences to work regular jobs in the community. This program aims to help individuals arrive at their release dates with jobs and some savings.”
UNFAIR!
When I was incarcerated in Virginia in a Low Security facility I decided I wanted to be a tutor. We had an education program there where inmates could work on their college degrees. I went up to the education building and expressed my desires. They told me that my dorm already had its limit on tutors. I asked then if I could at least take the exam to get my name on the waiting list. That afternoon I was administered the examination. The very next morning I received a note to report to the education building for an interview. I had the interview and that afternoon was designated a tutor. I had a great time helping guys out doing things from managing a bank account to doing algebra and geometry. I hope that many of the men today are doing well for themselves because of some of the help I provided them. The day I left, the entire dorm lined up to wish me well on the way out. The ‘lock em up and throw away the key’ attitude I had had for years was gone. I realized that good men can foul up and yet be redeemed…I was one of them. To not permit SO’s to be tutors is a terrible waste of potential talent. Unfortunately the corrections system frequently lets that happen. In my case Virginia gave me the chance to use my and other’s time wisely.
As a registered sex offender for over 22 years now, it never ceases to amaze me how I am implicitly associated with other citizens crimes despite there being absolutely no association between me and them.
Knee jerk responses keep coming and coming and amount to a life time of humiliation, punishment and hardship.
I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH OTHER PEOPLE OR THEIR CRIMES!!
LEAVE ME ALONE!!
I was truly blessed while I was inside. I did Bio-Medical Repair on the outside and the dentist at the camp I was at went to bat for me with the Warden. As a result, I became the first Medical Repair Orderly in DOC, having my own tool box (Inventoried daily of course) and without a CO as a supervisor…The dentist monitored me as I rebuilt all 6 dental suites at the camp and performed repairs on the dental tools, eventually even having Medical send their gear to me for work. By the end of my “Tenure” it got to where I would walk into Dental, Doc would unlock my box, tell me what needed repair, then just head to his office and leave me to it. We even remained friends after my release until sadly, he passed away from cancer.
Had it not been for him, I would have spent my days “Sweeping the sun off the sidewalk” on Inside Grounds since I wasn’t allowed to go to Outside Grounds, or out the gate for any reason because of my status as a SO.
Sometimes when we lest expect it, God sends as an ‘angel’ to help get us through the hard times…and we all will have them. I had an ‘angel’ who stood with me in spite of her family’s advice to do otherwise. Today I am a free man…except that ‘god-awful registry…and my friend and I still do many things together to make this end of life more pleasant. By the way, I now get along quite well with her family as they were able to see the errors of their ways…and ‘mom knows best’.
Money talks…..the poor do ‘the perp walk’
Work Release, Trustess, that’s for Theft, Drug Dealing and Cop Shooting, not aka Sex Offense
30 or so years ago I was in prison on a sex offence in Ma., sex offenders were not permitted in work release but everyone else was,, even murderer’s.
Cancelling the work release program for everyone is typical for those in the ‘rehabilitation business’. The get caught with their ‘knickers at their knees’ and correct their failure by punishing everyone. It doesn’t make sense except to those who are trying to ‘get the heat off’. People who are trying to get their lives in order for reentry are now held back because some bureaucrat in the corrections business was able to make a few bucks off of turning away from a travesty. I hope they are honest about the investigation and that the ‘low life’ corrections official finds him/her-self experiencing some time in the ‘cross-bar hotel’ without work release.
I agree with other posts, if you have a “sex crime” conviction you are ineligible for work release. Only jobs in prison were galley, inside grounds and houseman. The fix was definitely in.
If anyone in Duval is interested, there is a “2nd Chance Job Fair” this Thursday August 8 at FSCJ Downtown Campus. Here’s a link to the flyer:
https://healthyjacksonville.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Second-Chances-Job-Fair-Flyer.pdf
I emailed [email protected] Friday and asked them straight up “Realistically, do any of the employers at the event intend to hire registered sexual offenders or predators?”
I have not received a response yet.
I received a response from Optimum Personnel Services this morning:
“The answer is yes. We do have employers that intend to hire employees with that kind of background, as long as the meet the requirements for the job. The idea of the job fair is that people deserve a second chance, and the employers participating at the event are aware that people of any background can show up.”
I thanked them and asked for a list of companies hiring. Will post when (if) I get it.
Can’t publicly post employers. Email [email protected] and ask for list.
They have to cover their own butts. So, they have to make it look like they are doing something about it. That way no one suspects them. That’s what it’s all about.
Loosing battle there. What needs to be done is work centers for SOs and others where they have manufacturing or service behind a smaller gate for people which in turn pay child support, restitution, savings, ect as well as an educational fund for inmates with more time. Prisons could easily be self sufficient and rehabilitating they need a CEO figure to run it though so it’s never gonna happen. The worst punishment in prison was 1 no women 2 no way to make money. I’d have picked strawberry’s anything to make money and pass the day. Instead I educated myself daily and gave myself a better than college education and was a millionaire after 2 years. In at 19 out at 26. Today with the laws the way they are I couldn’t use the same path and tired but it could be done. Look there is 300 homeless in Miami alone someone with a blue flame of ambition bowing out of their ass could make millions on that not to mention actually help those people. Someone could easily take over (for profit) a reentry program and make millions for all those people that have no plans, no education, no goals, no money provide a bunk and a job I’m telling you the shit is ripe to make truck loads off what the state is missing. I recently spent time in jail and those people in there listened to me hung off every word. Their is no mentoring there no hope. The sherif thinks they are being tough for their own image but a real leader makes things better.
“There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them”
– Renoir
I would be down for partnering with the right people to change the things we can it’s a ripe time right now but will take a team. Lawyers a big one because the states gonna fight getting SOs together in one area.
“Instead I educated myself daily and gave myself a better than college education and was a millionaire after 2 years.”
If you’re a millionaire, as you claim, how about donating $5,000 to the Ex Post Facto – Sustainer fund and $18,000 to the Out of State Challenge fund! You could also fund a Jacksonville/Duval holiday ordinance challenge!
He’s probably buddies with Ron Book .
This is how it always works. The rich and powerful screw up and the little guy is the whipping boy. Remember in old England? The royal children had a whipping boy, meaning some little peasant boy who was the one to get whipped for their misbehavior. Why wouldn’t the royal children ever just act up to see their whipping boy get it again?
Please let’s look at this without rose colored glasses.
“GET PRIVATE MONEY OUT OF CAMPAIGNS FOR PUBLIC OFFICE “!
Level the playing field.
Who was sheriff in palm beach county during his incarceration?
The same one as is there now.
Bradshaw
The same corrupt POS there now of course!
What I want to know was how the f#$& was he eligible for any kind of work release ? When I did 8.5 years on a 10 year prison sentence and was told at both the county and state levels that with ANY kind of sex charges you were NOT eligible for trusted status or any kind of work release.
this post answers your question. Had you donated $130,000 to the sheriff, you might have gotten better treatment.
When I was in state prison in Florida (until 2016) I was told repeatedly by administration (over the course of a decade) that sex offenders are ineligible for work release, in all instances.
I was also told that I was ineligible for the 3 paying jobs in the Florida prison system: staff canteen operator, inmate canteen operator and PRIDE industries.
(The people who need to earn money the most are barred from earning, while the people who still have family resources – their people send them money every month, and they get weekly visits – are practically coddled with opportunities to earn).
Update from a Florida Prisoner
This is an excerpt from an email I received this morning: (names have been changed)
“…first the devastating news. they took all the tutors, clerks and aides who are sex offenders out of education/vocation. me, John Smith (who I had been training for the last 3 months as my replacement), Jack Dawson (our most senior and experienced clerk and classroom manager), Jim Jones (our computer geek/programmer), and Jason Newman. ( that’s more than 35 years of cumulative experience working in adult education). and any other SO who was not in a student position. it’s the old sex offenders can’t work as clerks or aides with education/vocational staff. it’s ridiculously hypocritical. … ”
And yet Jeffrey Epstein got frigging work release?????????
In which prison is this?
Not too sure which prison the respondent above is referring to, but I do know that Avon Park C.I. got rid of all the same in their classrooms as well as the PRIDE unit in late 2016. Don’t know if it has changed since then.
I was in avon park from 2011 to 2014 and worked at pride tire. I know one of the females at the tire place kept pushing to get all offenders out of there. Sadly I see she got her wish,its sad when people mess up and try to better themselves like every other inmate but get denied the chance even on the inside to better themselves.
13-month sentence? i think that should have been done in prison as it was over 12
13 month jail sentence with a work release program???? What happened to 25 years in prison for his crimes? Money talks!!
Someone forgot to mention that anyone with an escape charge or a sex charge ANYWHERE in their past is ineligible for Florida Department of Corrections work release program. Second, when one considers the fact that FDC gets close to 60% of the inmates weekly paycheck as ” room and board”, the inmate doesn’t stand a chance of getting enough money to start his life when he gets out 8 months later.