FLPrisoners Claim Corrections Officers Sprayed Them with Burning Chemicals

Prisoners Claim Corrections Officers Sprayed Them with Burning Chemicals

Feb.13, 2006


By RON WORD
Associated Press Writer

JACKSONVILLE, FL (AP) -- Ten inmates sued the state Department of Corrections and its embattled former Secretary James Crosby on Monday, saying they were severely burned when guards at Florida State Prison sprayed them with chemicals.

The amended suit filed in federal court in Jacksonville names 28 current and former Florida Department of Corrections employees, including Crosby, who was fired last week by Gov. Jeb Bush. Also named were current Florida State Prison Warden Michael Rathmann and former Regional Director Allen Clark, who resigned last fall amid allegations of misconduct.
"The systematic corruption and knowing misconduct at Florida State Prison and throughout the Florida Department of Corrections has resulted in the torture of 10 vulnerable people in state custody," said Cassandra Capobianco, a Gainesville attorney with Florida Institutional Legal Services.

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The suit claims the inmates suffered severe chemical burns, asthma attacks and psychological distress related to mental illness because of the use of chemical agents, such as tear gas and pepper spray.
It alleges the prison system uses chemical agents "as instruments of punishment and torture and in an excessive and unlawful manner against inmates at Florida State Prison." The use of chemical agents began in 1999 when Crosby was the warden at Florida State Prison and continues under Rathmann, the suit claims.

According to the suit, chemical agents were used against prisoners 238 times in 2000, 285 times in 2001, 447 in 2002 and 611 times in 2003 and 277 times in 2004.

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Crosby was ousted Friday by Bush after he became part of a wide-ranging investigation into possible criminal activity among prison system employees. Crosby had headed the nation's third largest corrections system since January 2003. The governor hasn't provided details about why he told Crosby to step down.



http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=51634

Go to http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8451.htm and watch.

It's pretty brutal stuff.

FDC. It's pervasive in the culture and the nation now. Cry for the once great nation.

The CSM and many BS cop shows focus on the red herring of "prison rape" like a beloved fetish, but the truth of the matter is a prisoner is far more likely to be abused by guards and other prison employees than they are to be raped by another convict.

I've heard stories from my contacts in LE that range from killing homeless people for sport & thrills to arranging prison fights for money and entertainment. This is "quaint" by comparison.