State sets a record in deaths of inmates
More inmates died in Florida prisons last year than in any other year on record, leaving the state scrambling to identify causes and find solutions.
The tally, 428 inmate deaths in 2017, was released late Friday by the Florida Department of Corrections and showed a 20 percent increase over previous years.
The inmates who died were, on average, younger than in previous years.
“A 20 percent spike in prison deaths is of course alarming, as is the fact that it’s younger inmates that are dying, rather than people who have been in there for decades,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida American Civil Liberties Union. “But I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. Many of these are under investigations. And there’s multiple causes.”
Those who died in 2017 averaged 56.3 years of age. Since 2012, the average age of death in the prison system has swung between 57.1 and 58.2 years old.
The Florida prison system has long been considered one of the most dangerous by almost any metric, including inmate-on-inmate violence, use-of-force by staff and problems with delivery of healthcare. But there is no easy answer as to why the number of deaths spiked so drastically from one year to the next. The FDC has begun an internal investigation. The causes of death are nearly all pending further investigation.
The psychological ward at Dade Correctional Institution saw an inmate with severe schizophrenia die under bizarre circumstances in 2012. Darren Rainey was placed in a hot shower for nearly two hours after soiling himself. He collapsed and the hot water — controlled from the outside — stripped the skin from much of his body like bark. One inmate witness said Rainey was taunted by staff as he begged for mercy, although the state attorney’s office declined to file charges.
The Florida prison population is getting older and inmates are serving longer sentences, thanks in part to the elimination of parole. Unlike previous years where the average age of death tended to increase slightly, apparently mirroring that aging population, in 2017 it dropped, meaning that can’t be the only reason.
The youngest to die in 2017 was a 22-year-old.
Why are younger people now dying in Florida prisons? The FDC points to an increase in overdoses on synthetic drugs like K2 as a possible contributing factor.
K2, also known as “spice,” is a mash-up of industrial chemicals — in this case, whatever prisoners can get their hands on, including roach spray or gasoline — sprayed on dried plant matter and then smoked.
Over the years, suicide has become a common cause of death in the prisons.
Staff was supposed to check on cells every 30 minutes at Central Florida Reception Center, for example. But in the early hours of March 19, 2017, one of those cell checks was missed. During the 104 minutes when no one checked his cell, Carl Singleton, hanged himself with his bed sheet. The official report said his body was still warm when they found him at 7:27 a.m. The staffers who shirked their duties received reprimands.