Gov. DeSantis pitches ‘prison labor’ to clean Helene debris from ‘private property’

Image via AP.

If you see a convict outside your house in an area hard hit by Hurricane Helene, odds are they haven’t escaped prison, but are doing what they’re told.

That’s according to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who for a second time this week pitched the benefits of using convicts for cleanup.

Unlike his previous paean to inmate servitude, the Governor floated using them in Pinellas County to clean up private property and “lift people’s spirits” by helping them return to normalcy.

“The low-security, low-risk inmates (controlled by the) Department of Corrections, they do prison labor anyways. So they’re bringing them to do debris removal. The good thing about that is you can use that on private property, not just on public,” DeSantis said in Madeira Beach.

Speaking on Tuesday in Horseshoe Beach, DeSantis also remarked on “debris” being cleaned up by inmates.

“We’re utilizing our resources. We’ve got low-security inmates that are out there who do normal prison labor. The Department of Corrections is bringing them to help with hurricane cleanup,” DeSantis said.

The Governor went on to discuss savings from them being “out there cleaning up in the debris, which would cost us way more money if you had to do that through some of these private contractors.”

It’s unclear how many convicts have been tasked with storm recovery.