In his former life as a Republican state senator, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist was known for being tough on crime.
Crist was the sponsor of a 1995 law that requires Florida inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their prison sentences.
Although the law was designed to avoid judicial leniency toward violent criminals, the law has most severely affected non-violent offenders, such as those convicted of drug possession.
The Crist-supported 85 percent law has combined with Florida’s mandatory minimum sentencing rules to force thousands of nonviolent offenders into onerous prison sentences disproportionate to the severity of their crimes.
To Crist’s credit, he has suggested that both the 85 percent law and mandatory minimums should be revisited, though he still believes the law he sponsored is a “good policy.”
Ironically, a strong supporter of the 85 percent law during the 2014 campaign has been Crist’s opponent, Gov. Rick Scott.
Jackie Schutz, a spokeswoman for Scott, has made the governor’s support for the 85 percent law very clear. “Over the next four years, Gov. Scott will protect Florida’s 85 percent rule to ensure that we do not lose ground on making our state safer,” she said.
Florida’s sentencing guidelines aren’t the only serious issue within the state’s prison and criminal justice systems. A recent report from the Palm Beach Post uncovered severe shortcomings in Florida’s privatized prison health care system.
According to the Post’s report, monthly inmate deaths reached a 10-year high of 36 in January of this year, 100 days after the prison system had its health care fully privatized.
If inmate deaths continue at their current rate, the total for 2014 will be nearly 5 percent higher than the previous high of 313 two years ago. The Post’s investigation found horror stories of mistreatment and neglect. One patient’s terminal lung cancer went undiagnosed, and her symptoms were treated with Tylenol and warm compresses.
Scott has strongly supported health care privatization during his first term, claiming the move would save taxpayers millions of dollars, while improving the quality of care. However, since the state of Florida signed a $1 billion contract with Corizon Inc., the prison health care system has rapidly deteriorated.
Advocating for fair and reasonable treatment of inmates isn’t being soft on crime. The Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, and the despicable treatment of Florida’s prisoners almost certainly qualifies as such.
Even ignoring the Constitution’s requirements, all human beings deserve to be treated with basic dignity and respect, including prison inmates. This isn’t just a criminal justice issue, but also a matter of human rights.
It’s obvious that Florida’s criminal justice and prison systems are in severe need of reform. Unfortunately, neither Crist nor Scott has so far made a firm commitment to addressing this issue in the coming years.
A version of this story ran on page 6 on 10/1/2014]
