Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation Meeting Today - My Remarks

I spoke before the Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation today at the Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus. After introducing myself, I delivered these words:

Albert Einstein once said, “The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.”

We know the names of the guards who put Darren Rainey in a scalding hot shower to die, begging for his life. What we don’t know are the names of the Florida Department of Corrections ranking officers and administrators who colluded to cover up their crime. We don’t know the names of investigators in the Inspector General’s office who looked the other way. Rainey’s death was once classified as an “in custody death from natural causes.” How did this happen? The last time I checked, it is a crime to engage in a conspiracy to cover up a murder.

The same Einstein quote holds true for private medical providers Corizon and Wexford. We know the names of the Doctors and Nurses who denied medical treatment to inmates that resulted in painful, agonizing deaths – all for maximizing profits. What we don’t know are the names of the Corizon and Wexford administrators, medical directors, and highly placed executives who conceived and encouraged this widespread, barbaric practice. These two companies have nearly 1700 malpractice lawsuits between them. Corizon and Wexford must not be allowed to profit from the pain and suffering of inmates.

Thorough investigations must be conducted deep into the hierarchies of the Florida Department of Corrections, the Inspector General’s office, Corizon, and Wexford to weed out those who tolerate and encourage evil. All those responsible must be held accountable – not just the few who commit these brutal, inhuman acts.