COLUMBIA, THE BEST FLORIDA HAS TO OFFER?
The editorial in question is an undeserved pat on the back for a terrible Florida prison printed in the prison town's paper. Anyone who knows the system and the prison, if they are being honest, will tell you the Lake City Reporter editorial is inaccurate, biased, and misleading. They are celebrating badness because it's how they make their money. Reader's comments follow the article. Kay Lee
Part of the problem. Prisons make jobs
US FL: Editorial: Prisons lock up sound economy
http://www.lakecityreporter.com/articles/2005/01/23/opinion/editorials/edit01.txt
Pubdate: Sun, 23 Jan 2005
Source: Lake City Reporter (FL)
Copyright: 2005 Lake City Reporter
Website: http://www.lakecityreporter.com/
Contact: http://www.lakecityreporter.com/letter/
PRISONS LOCK UP SOUND ECONOMY
"It's good to hear good news coming from both prison facilities in Columbia County. When words such as "expansion" or "budget increases" or "new jobs" all crop up with the prison facilities in this county, we get excited.
Both Columbia Correctional Institution and the Lake City Correctional Facility represent the best in inmate housing offered in this state. There are not any better managed correctional facilities in the state and the growth of the units at these has been phenomenal.
We're not advocating crime, but we do advocate punishment where it applies after a conviction and we're glad both facilities - the private prison that contracts with the state and the state-run prison - - are here and thriving in Columbia County.
Prisons make a good neighbor for a thriving community.
The jobs are good - both in salary and benefits - and we all know there's job security working in corrections.We're pleased to hear of the expansions and jobs already created, plus those about to be unveiled. Here's hoping for much success with the future endeavors and continued growth as a mainstay in the Columbia County economy."
COMMENTS from READERS:
"Kay, Columbia CI just expanded BIG TIME!!!! The state threw in millions of dollars to expand this institution and it has created hundreds of new jobs for both officers and Management (non-security). Just out of the blue this massive prison project was thrown up overnight, and before we knew it a whole new addition was added to Columbia."It is a terrible place to work and inmates are always glad to get away from this institution. Female CO's outweigh Male CO's about 7 to 3. It is known as the "L" prison to work.
"As you know, Columbia County is at the center of Florida. It connects I-10 with I-75. They say that if you want to get from one part of Florida to the other, Columbia County is a no miss county that preys on the east and the west. Never been impressed from what I have heard come out of Columbia. That is not saying much from me, as I am NOT a fan of most of the prisons in this state, but between CCA [private prisons] and the State, this County is definitely making millions on the prison industry. That much of the article is very much true."
Signed....
"An employee that knows more than most people would ever want
to concerning the Florida Department of Corrections!"
Go get 'em Kay! I like the way you think...and respond to those small town hicks who enjoy a life style that's dependent upon the pain and suffering of others. Why don't those people down there get a real job?I wish they'd realize how the rest of the nation look upon those employed by the FDOC and feel ashamed for them. To so enjoy harassing and pummeling their fellow human beings - even when they know a good percentage of those men and women behind bars don't deserve to be there - is a kind of perversion not practiced outside the borders of Florida.I spoke many times with individual guards at UCI who voiced the opinion that they love their jobs more than anything else they've ever done. For one, I don't know how they can do the things they do to those in their care, custody and control...and sleep nights. I wonder if they do have difficulty sleeping knowing what they've done to their fellow humans...or just maybe sleep avoids them as they worry that an inmate's friends or families will pay them a visit and repay them in kind.The tentacles of that agency are far reaching and sometimes used in a manner to attempt to unfairly influence other jurisdictions against past inmates. I received notification from the IPD (Indianapolis Police Department) that they had received information from FDOC that I was a convicted sex offender and as such I was told to report and register with the Sex Offender Program here in Indy! I contacted those people and demanded to know where they got their information and what basis they were using to accuse me of such a thing! I was told that after investigating the issue they determined the information they had received from Florida DOC was erroneous and to ignore the letter I'd received, as I had nothing on my record that could be even remotely considered a "sex Offense".As can be seen from the foregoing paragraph, the depth to which these people will go to oppress others is unimaginable...and without limits. Anyone who is outspoken about - or considered an adversary of - the FDOC, Jeb and their cohorts are subject to receive this kind of retaliation in the name of the "state of Florida". Government at it's best.They scare the elderly population every few years, telling them they're short of money and will have to release thousands of "hard-core convicts" back into their communities if they don't get more money for their budget. It never fails that this kind of tactic results in a public panic by that group of citizens who pressure legislators and others to fund the necessary money to prevent such a terrible thing from happening. In reality would the FDOC really release such violent offenders due to a lack of funding? No. The only inmates who would be released due to a shortage of money would be those minimum or medium custody men and women who were non-violent offenders with short sentences. Telling that to the public wouldn't generate the amount of funds necessary to continue to hold all inmates longer than necessary and give pay increases to the FDOC personnel twice a year.The kind of scare I mention above was practiced just a couple of years ago when I was down there. I saw the articles in the papers and on the local TV stations warning the public of the possibility of a mass release of several thousand hardened criminals due to the FDOC's shortage of operating funds for fiscal year 2003. The Governor "found" a way to get the legislature to provide another $68 million dollars out of the public coffers for the FDOC to keep from releasing inmates.Conditions attached to the funds was a guarantee that Crosby would attempt to reduce the overhead by limiting pay raises to current employees and also reduce new hires. Within a few months the FDOC had eliminated most of the vocational training and educational programs in the prison system as a way of reducing the overhead. At the same time, they offered the vocational instructors the opportunity to stay with FDOC as guards at a reduced hourly rate but with continued benefits! In addition to that, in late 2003 the Gueards union secured a substantial pay increase for their members...when just a couple of months before the newspaper headlines read that the FDOC was being asked to reduce wages and pay increases due to the severe shortage of funds.Reviewing the above information it's easy to see why rednecks who really don't want to work at a real occupation, gravitate to those jobs offered by FDOC. Easy money, Union benefits, retirement and the ability to lord it over other human beings at the same time. They are a protected species in Florida and Crosby and the agency will implement extreme measures to take care of those weak minded employees and keep getting them more and more money for doing less and less. It's no wonder the mean average weight of a correctional officer in FDOC is approximately 250+ lbs!Forgive the rant, it's just that the mentality of individuals who would publish such an article bragging about what the prisons are doing for their communities, sickens me to no end. They can't envision anything more wonderful in their little towns. They are allowed to inflate the population census to include the local prison inmates to garner more tax dollars for the towns...when we all know that's exactly what they're doing. Ol' Jeb lets it continue year after year, and does nothing to stop the squandering of state tax dollars in such an illegal program. Now Florida has an extremely high number of facilities in operation - I believe it's in excess of 70 institutions now - and are looking for property to build even more until every county has at least one prison and maybe more.It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that when each county becomes dependent upon the prison system to provide jobs, salaries, wage increases, tax windfalls and other benefits, the citizens become more and more dependent upon the FDOC for their needs. As a consequence, the FDOC is able to become the driving influence in those small towns and counties where the major source of employment is a prison. When that happens the department's influence begins to affect local politics and government because others are afraid to do anything to kill the golden goose or upset the apple cart, to quote a couple of sayings understood down there.FDOC is already one of the largest employers in Florida with over 27,000 personnel (which is a ratio of 1 employee for every 2.96 inmates!) And they want more money and more employees. In the next decade there wil be nobody and no one to say "no" to the demands of the FDOC because to do so would reduce the flow of money into the individual communities.Unfortunately, the massive FDOC monster will still have to be fed with human fodder in order for it to survive and continue to grow as it has for the past several decades. In order to produce the humanity necessary to keep the giant agency afloat, more and more laws will have to be legislated and enforced. Current laws will have to become better enforced in order to keep the chain of men and women coming into the department for continued job security for the ever increasing FDOC employee base. Courts will have to generate sentences which will keep the prison beds full and the money rolling in. All in all a sad state of affairs for Florida citizens, inmates and their families...to become a necessary commodity to keep a large number of lazy state employees in food and beer. Inmate sentences will become a matter of "shelf life" rather than fair sentences meted out by impartial and compassionate judges. Have no doubts that the FDOC has many statistical formulas informing them of what income each inmate will generate for them in state and Federal funding per day, week, month and year, with projections going on for another decade or so.The agency is allowed to operate this way because of the greed and desire for easy work and great pay by those individuals in the small towns and cities throughout Florida. Individuals who refuse to work at the local 7-11 or Handy Mart and make less money while having to show consideration and respect to their customers, flock to the FDOC where they "are" somebody...where other humans must give them the respect they've always known they deserved. Where they can practice whatever form of harassment and punishment upon others with no fear of retaliation or punishment for their actions. They want to work where they're protected by their brethren and the agency. Where they know the agency will cover up their misbehaviors and inform the public that the stories told by inmates and their families are all fabrications. This is what the little man in the little towns want and strive for.After all, once they allow the prisons into their communities and become a part of that wonderful agency they can truly say, "A month ago I kouldn't even spell korrektional oficer...now I are one..."Kay...as always you're free to use any of my material in whatever manner you deem will benefit those unfortunate individuals down there in prison. I sincerely hope that some day the written word will bring those individuals down there to their senses and eliminate the need for dozens of prisons and an economy which depends upon the suffering of others to survive.
Bob SloanEx-Offender
Good Morning Kay, I received your email regarding Columbia that was in the the Lake City newspaper. What a joke. FDOC really has the people of Columbia County and the whole State of Florida for that matter. Someone needs to wake up and see the reality of it all. Just to give you an update on my situation. My husband has been moved over to the work camp at Columbia and for the time being he seems to be a lot happier. So far so good. We will have to see.In the mean time keep me posted and I will as well.Take care.Vicki
TO: news@lakecityreporter.com
RE: Lake City Editorial: Prisons lock up sound economy
You have got to be kidding. Referring to article in the Lake city Reporter of Jan 23,2005. This type of editorial makes the average citizen angry and think that the inmate has it too easy and then want tougher standards for Florida's prisons.It is wrong to call them Correctional Institutes because they do little to correct the inmates' thinking, education opportunities when they get out, religion or attitudes toward drugs, stealing etc. The inmate has adequate housing if you call 4 concrete block walls, a little paint and some electricity with a hard bunk and flat pillow, no air condition for summer and inadequate heat in winter. They have a thin cotton jacket for all weather. Some have only cheap flat shoes to wear. The food is pressed processed meat patties and the vegetables overcooked mush.
The vegetables used to be raised by the inmate so they had to work for their keep. Since Jeb came into office with his stock in Aramark, the inmate no longer farms for his food and the fields are just grass.
Politicians benefit from the taxpayers' money and the inmate is not working for a living. Your article failed to mention that the inmates built these buildings. The inmates use to build their own prisons, now it is contracted out to civilians. They now have idle time to play on rec field and watch TV at night.
The reporter needs to look a little harder into the plight of the prisoner. There are no educational classes thanks to the Legislature. The new Secretary of Correction and the Legislature cut out all educational programs so they can misuse the money in other areas. The inmate has no chance of improving their education to find better jobs so they go back to their life of crime.
They are left with minimum wage jobs that do not properly support a family. The wife has to work and the children are left to their own when the get out of school. The inmate now has a problem getting a decent job because of his record and people just will not hire ex-inmates. They often return to a life of drugs and crime and soon are back in prison. Prisons do provide a lot of jobs and offers job security for many individuals in other places.
The "Corrections" system does put money in the pockets of politicians who have stock in the items purchased for prisons. It provides a lot of officers who have little education and a lack of people managing skills with a life time job. It is job security for many in Florida and produces a lack of job security for the inmates. The economy in Columbia is probably very good but remember it is taxpayers' money that they put in their pockets.
If the inmate could work in the fields producing their own foods, work in carpentry shops, have concrete block classes, computer classes, auto repair shops etc. they could be building Florida and learning a valuable trade for when they get out. There are a few PRIDE work shops that keeps a minimal amount of prisoners busy.
The writer of this articles needs to do more ground work. Talk to inmates' families or even the inmates themselves. But that would be impossible because the legislature forbids inmates talking to reporters. So the world does not know. Better luck next time.
Sincerely, someone who knows what is going on in the prisons. My husband is a retired corrections officer and my son is in prison. So I know both sides of the story and it is not in your article.Shirley Gauthier
dove8@knology.net
RE: US FL Editorial: Prisons lock up sound economy
Contact: news@lakecityreporter.com"I was hoping this Florida editorial was tongue in cheek. Appears not" ...but I had to laugh anyway at the small town thinking that went into it. Trouble is, the situation certainly is not amusing.As your editorial says, prisons have proved to be a financial boon to little towns whose people are willing to make their bucks off other people's pain. And I imagine that the census bonus the government gives prison towns is a real pick-me-up, even if it is not... you know... exactly kosher... to count the not-from-Lake-City-non-tax-paying-captive audience as part of the local population.I've visited north Florida prison towns many times. I see how many of the locals sleepwalk through the weekdays, the majority of them trudging to and from the prison for their paychecks, the rest of them waking up in time to turn on their cash registers as the prisoner families arrive for their weekend visits. Lots of money flowing for a couple days there, reminding everyone in town of why they love the prisons.Well, it may be good for Lake City but the cost of the prison system is breaking the back of the rest of us! We are funding the incarceration of many people who would more cheaply and effectively benefit by outside programs. For shame to celebrate their lose of freedom because it gives Lake City residents job security.One more thing: You say Columbia CI is the best prison the state has to offer? From what I hear, if that were true, Florida would certainly have nothing to brag about!So, when DID Columbia CI clean up their nasty act? It must have been overnight, because besides what is already on the MTWT Columbia CI page (http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/prison/columbia.html), I still have a folder full of errant guards and dirty deeds occurring at Columbia - as related by prison workers (past and present), families and inmates. One day, when the shenanigans of errant guards at CCI blows up in Lake City's face, the town's not going to be crowing quite so loudly.Face it - Nepotism is rampant in Florida's small town prisons. This article must have been written by someone related to a prison worker. Of course, the paper could be owned by someone related to a prison worker. Isn't everyone in Lake City related to a prison worker?Or making money off the prison in one way or another, while the nation's taxpayers foot the bill?
Looking Forward to the end of mass incarceration,
Kay Lee
kaylee1@charter.net
2683 Rockcliff Rd. SE
Atlanta, GA 30316
404-212-0690AN OFFICER'S REBUTTAL
To 'Columbia, Florida's Best?'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Making The Walls Transparent on Columbia CI
http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/prison/columbia.html
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~