Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschFebruary 16, 2016

In a pivotal scene from the vastly underrated movie “Heat,” the cop-and-robber characters portrayed by Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro go rat-a-tat-tat with each other over why certain men commit crimes. The robbery-homicide detective portrayed by Pacino cannot help but admire the discipline of the highline burglar found in DeNiro’s Neil McCauley character, yet he doesn’t really understand […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 10, 2016

It’s been four years since the media broke the news of Darren Rainey’s brutal mistreatment at the Dade Correctional Institution in Miami. The 50-year-old Rainey was forced into a scalding shower by prison guards angry that the schizophrenic inmate defecated and threw feces at them and around his 13-by-8-foot cell. In retaliation, they forced Rainey […]

Jim RosicaDecember 30, 2015

Julie Jones: The head of the embattled state Department of Corrections has been making headlines since her appointment this January, and 2016 promises a no less busy year. Reports of inmate deaths and abuses and criminal activity behind bars have been unfortunate staples of prisons coverage. Earlier this year, Republican state Sen. Greg Evers grew so concerned […]

Peter SchorschDecember 16, 2015

Florida’s Department of Corrections has had a difficult past few years, with allegations of widespread abuse, neglect, torture and death of inmates under Its watch. Brandishing a list of suspected violations both criminal and civil rights, a coalition of 14 human rights groups is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the DOC. […]

Peter SchorschDecember 15, 2015

After a story in Sunday’s Miami Herald detailed instances of corruption, coerced sex and trading of sex for contraband, Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones issued a written statement saying reforms implemented under her leadership have made Lowell Correctional Institution a safer place, but added she plans to “thoroughly review the disturbing allegations brought forward […]

Associated PressSeptember 23, 2015

An independent audit commissioned by the Florida Department of Corrections has concluded that Florida’s prisons are so “chronically understaffed” that an emergency should be declared to keep corrections officers and inmates safe. The Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau reported Tuesday that the National Institute of Corrections report says the lack of prison staff costs the […]

James CallMay 8, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order Friday to crack down on the violent culture within Florida’s prison system. The order includes provisions addressing safety and transparency and that hold guards, wardens and Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones accountable. Newspaper investigations have detailed a series of unexplained inmate deaths, allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers, […]

Christine Jordan SextonMay 4, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott on Monday reappointed 14 men and women as directors of state agencies despite the Florida Senate refusing to confirm them during the Legislative Session. The agencies run the gamut from Department of Economic Opportunity to the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to the State Technology Agency. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner […]

Associated PressApril 8, 2015

Florida prisons chief Julie Jones says she knows of no further Ku Klux Klan activity by Florida prison officials besides two guards and a former guard arrested last week last week for plotting to kill a black inmate. But Jones told the Senate Criminal Justice Committee Tuesday that detecting extremists can be difficult because corrections […]

Ryan RayMarch 12, 2015

As reported this week in Florida Politics, Pete Antonacci — former general counsel for Gov. Rick Scott — is back in the influence business at his former firm GrayRobinson. Last week, Antonacci’s roster of clients were relatively inoffensive, but not so as of Thursday with the registration of his fourth client. Antonacci has signed up private prison giant Corizon, a company […]

Tag: Julie Jones

Take a breath before casting judgment on prison health care contract

Chris Timmons: Fixing Florida’s prisons will take money, determination

Jim Rosica’s 5 people to watch in state government in 2016

What message does Smart Justice Summit send by featuring Angola State prison warden Burl Cain?

On Julie Jones’ ridiculous statement to the Miami Herald

Audit details “dangerous” understaffing at Florida prisons

Governor reforms prisons with executive order

Rick Scott reappoints 14 agency heads after Senate snub

DOC chief not aware of further Klan activity by prison guards

Pete Antonacci locks up controversial lobbying client