by David M. Reutter
After campaigning on a theme of reeling in wasteful spending, Rick Scott wasted no time as governor in tapping Edwin Buss as Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC). At the time, Buss was Indiana’s Commissioner of Corrections. Along with his experience in reducing recidivism, ...
by David M. Reutter
Disenfranchisement of ex-felons has always been a huge issue for civil rights activists. Lately, a few victories have been obtained in the area. The question is, however, how effective have the gains been in empowering ex-felons to vote?
In Florida, the process is slow. Yet, much ...
By: David M. Reutter
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin held, on December 14, 2010 that a prison guard’s involvement in the investigation in an incident is not “substantial involvement” that violates the due process right to an impartial decision maker in a prison disciplinary hearing.
This case involved protracted litigation ...
by David M. Reutter
South Carolina-based Anderson Hardwood Floors formally announced in January 2012 that it had been violating Canadian law by exporting products partly manufactured by prisoners into Canada for the past 15 years. The announcement implicitly means the company also violated U.S. law by failing to clearly label ...
by David M. Reutter
On December 23, 2011, a Maryland federal district court three-judge panel upheld a state law that counts prisoners as residents of their legal home address rather than their prison address for redistricting purposes.
For decades, states have used unadjusted census data to set voting districts. The ...
by David M. Reutter
A report by the John Howard Association of Illinois (JHA) found that overcrowding and understaffing at the Menard Correctional Center (Menard) has resulted in an “alarming” increase in staff and prisoner assaults.
Opened in 1878, Menard is the second-oldest prison in Illinois. When JHA visited the ...
by David M. Reutter
One of the most insidious businesses to grow out of the prison industrial complex revolves around mug shots. Natural curiosity compels many people to view jail booking photos taken by law enforcement agencies when someone is arrested, which are usually considered public records. Profiteers are now ...
by David M. Reutter
As America’s prison population has swelled over the past three decades to become the largest per capita in the world, the number of special interests that feed off the so-called prison industrial complex has grown. The expansion of companies that benefit from crime and incarceration is ...
by David M. Reutter
Residents in a South Florida community near a proposed 1,500-bed privately-operated immigration detention center waged a successful yearlong opposition campaign that culminated in the cancellation of the project in June 2012.
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) purchased a 24-acre plot in the town of Southwest Ranches ...
by David M. Reutter
The Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) may ban all pen pal solicitations between pen pal services and Florida prisoners, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held on December 22, 2011. The appellate decision affirms a federal district court’s January 2011 summary judgment order that found the ...
