I happened across your page recently while playing with google search, and noticed how outdated your Hamilton CI page has become. I will attempt to provide you with the most pertinent information you seem to be lacking.

The work-camp has two open bay dormitories that house 144 inmates each, for a total of 288. The W/C is usually kept full. The annex has 5 open bay dormitories capable of housing 142 inmates each (71 per side), and 3 2-man cell 'T' buildings, which can hold 258 each (one is used as confinement, 2 men per cell) for a total of 1484 available beds. This doesnt include the hospital which can hold 20 inmates. The dorms are never full to capacity, the average open bay has at least 6 empty beds, the T-buildings around 9. The exception being Delta dorm, which is transitional, and usually is barely half-full at any given time. I'm not certain what the capacity is for the main unit, but its more than the annex.

We now have a new warden (a Crosby crony) Jack Sapp. His assistant wardens are Hudgins and McCallum. The Colonel is David Coleman. Hamilton has gone down-hill drastically since they took over.

The Colonel's policy is 'Never return a half-empty can of gas, use it all' and 'if you use gas, use force'. As a result of his 'new' policies, fake DR's have escalated, but a few needed reforms have taken place: Movement on all three compounds is much more orderly, and inmates have and wear their ID cards as described in the rule books (which have been updated for the first time since 2001). Inmates are also much more informed about what they need to do to stay within guidelines, where as before the rules were cryptic and more randomly enforced.

NOTE: 8/30/2006 - Even in FDOC the wheels of justice turn. Capt Coleman was promoted Colonel at Hamilton C.I. However this didn't last long. His sins finally caught up with him regarding Officer White resulting in his demotion to Sgt and tranfer to another instiution. Rumor has it he is still under investigation. Not all of us play these games and find this an embassment to DOC officers. Kindly pass this to Mrs White as I'm sure she will gain some satisfaction from it. A DOC officer that remembers.

A number of the good officers have left for other institutions and been replaced mostly by 19 to 25 year old 'guard' wanna-be's. A few of the professionals are gone fighting in Irag (Sgt T. L. North for one). Lt. Pam Brown is no longer administrative LT, she's been replaced by a Lt. Ross (male) who aspires to be a colonel someday, and thus licks many a jack-boot. Sgt P. Allen is now a Lt. at the main unit on admin shift (can you say 'softball'?).

Though we have more than one doctor (as misreported by Lt. Brown), medical care is deplorable. Numerous inmates have been sent back to the dorms with multiple seizures because there are no beds in medical and the on-duty nurse is too lazy to send them to the hospital (or the shift OIC wont allow it).

Mrs. Lamb, who runs HCI's Aramark food service is in severe cost cutting mode, and fires any employee who questions her. Inmates recieve about 2 inches of juice in the mornings, grits are watered down, and very little meat used in gravy. Dinner meals are constantly served late, with strange substitutions (like old coffee cake to replace dessert cake), and the chicken is as ever raw.

For the 'dumb beyond belief' section (wish you had one), 3 Officers were fired a couple weeks ago for sleeping...at an outside hospital...armed....within 5 feet of the inmate they were supposed to guard. One was in a spare bed, under the covers, he was the one with the pistol. The other two were in the hospital recliners covered with blankets. A nurse called the shift OIC, and when he showed up the inmate waved to him and kept watching TV. The best part: Two of the officers were softball players working overtime as a favor.

On a broader note, the wearing of 'bulletproof' vests by all staff at all times is false. They are stab-vests, and only required in confinement units of select institutions (like UCI) so far. Pepper spray is available to all staff, and most do wear it.

I rarely check this e-mail address, but if you respond I'll see it eventually. If there's any information you require, feel free to ask. I'll refrain from giving my name at this time, on the grounds that the gestapo might get me ;)

Sincerely,
HamCI Staff Member

2004: Recently Florida Legislators helped the FDOC step on the toes of prisoners and their families once again.  A "banking fee" of $4 per month is to be levied against the money on any inmate's account. Since the FDOC does not feel it important that people in prison have jobs, in most cases, fees have to be paid by families and friends of the inmate.  Hamilton prisoners seek relief with a grievance.

Grievance concerning Fla Inmates and their trust funds

Subject: Prison life.2004
Saturday, August 28, 2004

My son was sentenced to 14mos.approx. and was sent to Hamilton Correctional. While there we complained for him to the warden and Tallahassee that his life was being threatened by a predator. The warden put him in what we thought was protective custody but everything seemed to backfire as the officers were abusive and he was mistreated. The warden told him not to complain anymore. Some of his time was taken away and this is what we want back. He was finally moved to Putnam Corr. which he finds to be more agreeable and to have better conditions. He has found that there are many others who have had and still have similar complaints. There have even been deaths due to some inconsistencies and cruelties. But we are hesitant to complain until he is out and free! Do you have any suggestions? and is there an ongoing investigation?

Sorry to say, I do not know of any formal investigation of Hamilton CI. We can always hope someone from warden to regional director on up to Tallahassee cares what's going on in these prisons, but as far as I know, the only 'investigation' being done is by MTWT and other outsiders who care but don't really have the authority to penetrate the wall of silence that surrounds any institution where there is chronic wrongdoing. Kay Lee