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| Prison Racial Discrimination Suit in Florida Begins |
| By Associated Press/Ocala Star-Banner |
| Published: 11/08/2002 |
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The white employees and supervisors at Marion and Lake county prisons had a shared sense of contempt for black workers, an attorney said recently during opening statements of a discrimination trial. The federal lawsuit alleges that white corrections officers at prisons in Marion and Lake counties discriminated against black employees. 'Too many decisions at the department are made by cliques who abuse their power behind the scenes,' prosecutor Frank Scruggs told the jury. 'The department in practice generally treats African-Americans and whites differently.' Plaintiffs were given bad work schedules, disciplined unfairly, denied training and promotion opportunities and subjected to a 'hostile work environment' that included racial slurs, Scruggs said. But lead defense attorney Peter Martin said race was not the cause of differential treatment, the Ocala Star-Banner reported. 'The evidence will show it was not because of the color of a person's skin,' Martin said. One of the plaintiffs, former prison food service worker Michael Johnson, is suing his supervisor, claiming he was given an unpredictable schedule and denied training. 'On any given day, he would have no idea where he would work or when he would start work,' Scruggs said. The suit names three prisons - Lowell Correctional Institution, Marion Correctional Institution and Lake Correctional Institution. Ten plaintiffs are involved in this lawsuit and about 20 more are involved in three pending suits. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks. |
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