Florida lawmakers won't hear bills to improve state prison conditions this session

Forced to go outside for hours during the day, only to be funneled back inside a prison without air-conditioning, Florida's inmates are spending the majority of their sentences sweating.

To beat the heat, former prisoner Denny Hughes said he and others had to get creative.

Hughes and other inmates when he was at Charlotte Correctional Institution used to fasten sheets or towels between the bunks and the windows to try and capture any air passing through. But it wasn't long before their only hope of cooling off was confiscated by correctional officers during midnight inspections.

Push back against the removal of the makeshift vents, he said, usually led to consequences — even death in one extreme case.

"I don't even know of anybody that lives in Florida that doesn't have fans," said Hughes, who served time in both Florida's state and federal prisons between 2013 and 2018 after being convicted of grand theft in Broward County.

Appalled by the lack of air-conditioning and numerous other problems in the state prison system for years, state lawmakers were hoping to kickstart change by backing bills that reinforce the rights inmates are to have — things they say should already be considered basic human rights.

But those bills, filed by Democrats in a Republican-dominated Legislature, never received a hearing this legislative session. With committees largely having stopped meeting and lawmakers wrapping up a multi-billion dollar budget for next year, the measures are effectively dead. Session is scheduled to end next Friday.

A pair of identical bills (HB 233, SB 1702) filed by Rep. Dianne Hart, D-Tampa, and Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, focused on four major categories, giving inmates the right to:

• Proper ventilation, requiring all housing units to have air-conditioning or air-cooling systems.

• Sufficient meal time, receiving a minimum of 20 minutes to eat.

• Adequate food supply in case of emergency, requiring each institution to establish a program with a local food bank.

• Necessary health products like soap, sanitary napkins, tampons and toothpaste upon inmate request.

The bill would also guarantee necessary protective equipment for prison medical staff during a health crisis. "It's crazy that many of these things should already be in place," Hart said. "However, they're not being done."

'Still people'

Ever since she joined the Legislature in 2018, Hart has made it her mission to improve the state's criminal justice system. She has visited 57 of the 143 facilities run by the Florida Department of Corrections, and she's seen firsthand the life inmates are subject to behind bars.

There are a number of Florida laws that spell out how inmates are to be treated and things they are supposed to receive, Hart said. But based on her visits, a lot of what's already been established isn't happening, she said.

"It's a sad day when you have to force something that is already on the books," Hart said.

The law she and Powell are proposing would also require the DOC to provide all inmates with a printed copy of those rights so they are aware of them, and it allows inmates to file a grievance if they feel one of these rights was denied.

Hart saw the prisons' shortcomings through her visits, finding out things like inmates in numerous institutions were only getting three to four minutes to scarf down their food, or that women weren't being given sufficient feminine products when they needed them.

"They're treating people like animals," she said. "There's no real rhyme and reason for that."

The lawmaker also noted how she's walked into the prisons "nice and dry," and after just a few minutes, comes back out soaking wet with sweat. "It's like torture," she added.

"You won't let your dog in that kind of heat, but you'll allow people in it," she said.

Not having air-conditioning in Florida is simply inhumane, Powell said. "Just about every house in the state of Florida has some type of air-conditioning," he said. "There's no reason not to have it in the prisons."

Powell said the lack of cool air is one of the problems that needs to be resolved first. A report from KPMG, the company the DOC hired to devise a prison system "master plan," focused heavily on the lack of air-conditioning in prisons and the conditions of the buildings themselves.

The company reported a stifling statistic — 75% of all housing units lack air-conditioning. KPMG's findings sparked widespread conversation, but even after the buzz, Powell said he doesn't see any extra steps being made toward change.

Both he and Hart agree that there isn't enough being done, and the laws already in place aren't adequate. Passing this new law would have firmly reinforced that inmates have rights and aren't just a number, Powell said.

"People who are incarcerated are still people," he said. "We have to give them the best opportunity at rehabilitation and many times we create barriers to success by policy."

Longing for change

One night, Hughes said he woke up to an argument between an officer and a neighboring inmate after the officer told the inmate to remove the sheet — his makeshift air-conditioning unit — and to pick up a cup and magazine that was left out.

"The guy was like, 'Look it's really hot,' and the lieutenant wasn't having it, and he pulled him out of the cell and hit him with his baton," Hughes said. "They kicked him down the stairs; it ended up killing him."

The incident, which was investigated by the DOC and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, was brought before a grand jury where it was decided that the prison failed to collect enough evidence to bring charges against the five guards implicated in the crime.

"This is just one example of the AC issues," Hughes said.

Another set of identical bills (SB 296, HB 181) were filed by Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Angie Nixon, also D-Jacksonville. These two bills solely focused on making air-conditioning mandatory in every housing unit in all Florida correctional institutions. Again, neither was considered this session.

More: Florida prison system needs billions of dollars in repairs — but lawmakers say 'no'

Hart said visiting the prisons is what it's going to take for her colleagues to see the importance behind each of these legislative efforts. More lawmakers are starting to make treks out to state prisons, but there still is a lack of support this session for these types of bills, she said.

A lot of people want to blame the DOC because it's easy, but really the willingness of the Legislature isn't fully there, said Denise Rock, the executive director of Florida Cares.

"We're disappointed that this is not a bill that would move or that would pass because it just seems like such a no-brainer," Rock said. "This is about providing humanitarian conditions, and more importantly, humanitarian treatment."

Florida Cares, a nonprofit that advocates for the incarcerated, receives desperate calls from inmates every week who say things like they aren't getting 20 minutes to eat — an issue that would be resolved by this bill, Rock said.

There are a lot of rules the DOC has in place — giving inmates time to eat is one of them — that are frequently neglected, or officers simply don't know them. It takes a law to really ensure they are being enforced, she said.

For example, Rock said she's had to remind officers at institutions about the rule when inmates informed her the guards held competitions to see who could feed a dorm the fastest.

Although motivation to improve prison conditions is low, there is more support this year than last, she said. The DOC wants to see changes like air conditioning, she said, but the power isn't really in their hands.

Even in the face of unlikely odds, Hughes had been hoping lawmakers could put politics aside and bring the change inmates are so desperately longing for.

But, he added, "what's really sad is that I follow these (bills) every year – and they always die."

Elena Barrera can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Bills to improve Florida prison conditions likely dead this session