Tag: inmate population

There is a statewide doctrine that is contrary to law, mandating that each institution targets, profiles and singles out a specific portion of the inmate population under the guise of the grooming standards policy as prescribed by the Florida Administrative Code, Chapter 33 Care of inmates (S. 602.101(4)). The persons being profiled are exclusively those of African descent.

In 1973, the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals issued a report which stated in part: “The prison, the reformatory and the jail have achieved only a shocking record of failure. There is overwhelming evidence that these institutions create crime rather than prevent it.” This same report stated directly: “No new institutions for adults should be built and existing institutions for juveniles should be closed.”

Sept. 9, 2013, marks the 42th anniversary of the prison uprising at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Forty-two men, mostly inmates, were killed in the armed retaking of the prison under the orders of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. I was there, as one of the “observers” specifically requested by the inmates. We tried to negotiate a peaceful, non-violent settlement of the dispute.