New documents shed light on canceled prison visits in August

The Florida Department of Corrections took the uncommon step of canceling visits from friends and family at all of its major prisons for a weekend in August, saying a planned march for inmates’ rights in Washington, D.C., might have encouraged prisoners to take some sort of action from behind bars.

Records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel this month show activist groups outside the prison walls had sent prisoners newsletters encouraging nonviolent protests and mentioned disturbances in four Florida prisons from September 2016 — the 45th anniversary of the Attica Prison uprising in New York.

“Florida was one of the first and most active states in the September [2016] strikes, but the repercussions felt by those inside remains a mystery to most on the outside,” an organizer wrote in one newsletter, which was unsigned. “…What occurred this fall has become a pivotal point in the effort to end mass incarceration in this country, those who had the courage to act deserve to be known and supported. Remember: you are not alone. There is a growing movement to abolition the prisons system as we know it, just as we did away with slavery, and you, your cellmates, friends and family may be on the front lines of it.”

The Florida Department of Corrections runs 148 correctional facilities and houses about 98,000 inmates.

Over the weekend of Aug. 19, when the visits were canceled, inmates at 55 prisons statewide received disciplinary citations or punishments for misbehavior such as possession of contraband, weapons or drug paraphernalia; possession of unauthorized amounts of cash or cellphones; disobeying orders and making threats, documents released by the corrections department show.

Corrections officers did “extensive searches of inmates and inmate cells” that weekend, a department spokeswoman said.

“The department has a duty to protect the public, inmates and staff from violence and will take any necessary measures to uphold that duty,” the spokeswoman said in an email. “In response to credible threats, the department canceled statewide visitation, over one weekend, to uphold the safety and security of its facilities.”

None of the 500 inmates who received citations, which the department calls “infractions,” was criminally charged, the spokeswoman said.

The newsletters sent to inmates did not call for violence, and it’s unclear whether they reached their intended recipients.

One newsletter recommended that inmates protest by fasting the day of the march, praying, meditating or exercising, “participate in intense political studies with emphasis on the 13th Amendment,” which abolished slavery, wear a black armband and stop smoking, drinking and buying products from prison commissaries.

The newsletters mentioned the prisoners’ strike held in September 2016 on the 45th anniversary of the Sept. 9, 1971, uprising at Attica Prison in New York. The 1971 Attica riots left 43 people dead, both prisoners and corrections employees.

Four Florida prisons had what the department called “disturbances” that September 2016 weekend when several hundred inmates at Holmes Correctional Institution caused damage to the prison dorms. One inmate was hurt, according to the Department of Corrections.

There was also a September 2016 “major disturbance” at Gulf Correctional Institution Annex, a work stoppage at Mayo Correctional Institution and a “disturbance” at Jackson Correctional Institution. In all, four inmates were reported injured. The Department of Corrections put a few facilities on lockdown, but visitation was not affected in most of the state.

Visitation was also canceled in most of the state on Sept. 9 and 10, the weekend Hurricane Irma approached Florida.

“This decision was made in response to Hurricane Irma’s impact on Florida’s transportation infrastructure as well as the storm’s effect on operations at institutional facilities across the state,” the department said at the time.

glotan@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5774

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