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| Report Says Inmates Mistreated in Broward Co. Jail |
| By Sun-Sentinel |
| Published: 08/05/2002 |
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The Broward County jail system has countless serious problems, including poor medical care that contributed to preventable deaths, a pattern of excessive force, inadequate mental health care and improper use of restraints on mentally ill prisoners, according to experts' reports released Thursday. The three experts were jointly picked by the Broward Sheriff's Office, the inmates' attorneys and a federal judge. Their reports were included in documents filed Thursday in federal court in Miami as part of a long running lawsuit that has subjected the jail system to court-ordered independent monitoring for years. 'From our perspective, [the Broward County Jail] is a dangerous place,' said Eric Balaban, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project. 'The pattern of excessive force, poor communications, lack of supervisory controls and preventable deaths all paint a very dire picture. We think that the continuation of federal oversight is absolutely necessary.' Among the troubling findings were that some recent jail deaths that were ruled accidental or natural could have been prevented if the jails had better practices and policies. The experts also found disturbing indications that staffs at the jails are not held accountable and are not discouraged from habitually using physical force against inmates when other options might work. The jails also fail to keep track of how frequently that happens. The documents filed by the ACLU's Washington, D.C., office are intended to try to compel the Broward Sheriff's Office to turn over more information and evidence about jail conditions to attorneys representing the inmates. Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Cheryl Stopnick said she had not read the reports and officials would not comment on them. But in court files, the Sheriff's Office denies that conditions at the jails are problematic and says it has already made many changes to deal with issues raised by the lawsuit since the experts inspected the jails. Inmates at the county's jails are either awaiting trials or probation hearings, or are serving sentences of up to one year for minor offenses. |
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