The Blog of Author George Mallinckrodt : I'm So Proud of the INMATE FAMILY CAPITOL PROTESTERS!

Yesterday at 10am, a group of people converged on the Capitol in Tallahassee, FL. Many had come to voice their fears regarding the Department of Corrections lack of concern for the safety of their family members who are currently incarcerated. Debbie, whom I've had contact with previously, described the many beatings and abuse her son had suffered while housed at prisons around the state.

Another woman, Ada Campos, will never see her son again. Justin Campos was stabbed to death in a retaliation killing by two members of the Latin Kings. Ada blames the DOC for not protecting him - despite knowing he was a target of a gangland hit. The DOC has still not released details of his death over a year later. Steven Alberts, a former inmate at my old workplace, Dade Correctional Institution, gave accounts of the many abuses guards dished out while he housed there.

The PROTESTERS piled into DOC headquarters and met with Michael Crews - Secretary of the DOC, Jeff Beasley - Inspector General, and Tim Cannon - Deputy Secretary of the DOC. In a conversation with Debbie last night, she chuckled as she repeated what she told Crews, "I've been calling to talk to you for two years…the only person I spoke to was your secretary - she knows me real well!"

Crews assured the PROTESTERS their concerns were taken seriously. That was little comfort to family members who have read about the recent death of Latandra Ellington. A mother of four children, she was apparently beaten to death by guards - an independent autopsy revealed abdominal hemorrhaging consistent with being punched or kicked.

The PROTESTERS attempted to meet with Gov. Rick Scott. Even though his calendar was empty, the Governor would not meet with them. Neither would Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera.

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