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On the eve of the election, a reporter and photographer set out for Washington, via America. We tell stories from seven towns, touching on seven issues from politics and real life.
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TALLAHASSEE — Florida officials are reviewing eligibility for a St. Petersburg-based prison labor program after a participant killed a correctional officer at a Daytona Beach prison.
Officer Donna Fitzgerald was stabbed to death June 25 at Tomoka Correctional Institution after she was attacked by an inmate who fashioned a knife made from sheet metal. Enoch Hall, 39, serving two life sentences for the rape and kidnapping of a 66-year-old Pensacola woman, faces a first-degree murder charge and has been moved to Florida State Prison in Starke.
Despite a rap sheet showing a history of violence toward women, Hall passed a security clearance to work in a heavy-equipment shop for PRIDE, the nonprofit that has provided jobs for inmates for nearly three decades.
"We're reviewing all of our policies and procedures," said state corrections spokesman Gretl Plessinger. She said the state and PRIDE work jointly to determine an inmate's eligibility for a prison job.
PRIDE, created by business executive Jack Eckerd, aims to teach skills to inmates that will help them readjust to society, such as reporting for work on time, following directions and learning a trade.
By law, 40 percent of inmates selected for PRIDE must be serving sentences longer than 10 years as a way to fulfill another of PRIDE's duties: reducing inmate idleness. Of the 2,500 inmates working for PRIDE, less than 10 percent are serving life sentences, PRIDE spokesman Foster Harbin said.
Harbin said his firm would support whatever changes the state will recommend, including whether a "lifer" with a violent past should be in a work program available to only a tiny fraction of the prison population.
Robert Sloan, a former Florida inmate and critic of PRIDE, said in a letter to the St. Petersburg Times: "There is absolutely no place in the prison industrial training programs for inmates with life or long sentences. … Most lifers will never receive a release and should therefore not be considered for such a program."
Harbin said the death of Fitzgerald, who was attacked when she found Hall hiding in a work shed about 7:30 p.m., was the first violent incident involving a PRIDE participant in the program's 27-year history.
The agency said that to be eligible for PRIDE work, an inmate cannot have been cited in a disciplinary report for six months.
Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.
[Last modified: Jul 11, 2008 08:44 PM]
Comments on this article
by IRON TRIANGLE ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
Jul 11, 2008 8:44 PM
What the DOC really needs to reevaluate is its own security policies. Had it done so in the wake of Officer Darla Lathrem's murder five years ago, Officer Fitzgerald would probably be alive today.
by john
Jul 10, 2008 8:41 PM
officers dont work in pairs, most of the time your in there alone with 60 or more inmates. lifers shouldnt be in the program they have nothing to lose. pride is a money game, pay the inmates like 40 cents hr, cheap labor.
by John
Jul 9, 2008 7:49 PM
Being a CO for around 14 years, I would tend to agree with Ron, officers should always be in pairs. Unfortunately, I also know that reality and budget restraints never allow for enough officers to cover minimum posts, much less double up.
by 21stCenturyTeaParty
Jul 9, 2008 3:52 PM
You can bet your best lobbyist Mr. Eckerd is turning in his grave. Just more shame on the entire broken Criminal Justice System.
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." Dr. M L King, Jr.
by Ron
Jul 9, 2008 3:51 PM
Before someone jumps the gun and bans female uniformed staff from male prisons let us remember that women are just as effective and in some case more effective with male offenders. When there is suspected escpae, OFFICERS SHOULD BE IN PAIRS ALWAYS.
by Mary
Jul 9, 2008 10:36 AM
Oh, the State doesn't care - after all she was just a state employee - easily replaced with one of the few graduates from our outstanding public school system.
Sheesh - we need to replace ever one of our Legislators!!!!
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