Several advocacy groups have decided to drop a federal lawsuit and pay more than $210,000 in legal costs to the Florida Department of Corrections, which the groups alleged had engaged in cruel and inhumane solitary confinement practices.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, Florida Legal Services and the Florida Justice Institute last month agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it can’t be refiled in the future. The potential class action filed in 2019 alleged about 10,000 inmates in the Florida system were being housed in solitary conditions that violated constitutional standards.
The state’s Department of Corrections secretary emphasized that corrections professionals are in a better position than advocacy groups to make important decisions about how to confine violent offenders. He also characterized the ideologies of activist groups as distorted and not accurate.
“Whether for disingenuous or well-intended purposes, failure to properly secure and house an individual inmate who has proven to be dangerous and violent – asserting that doing so would negatively impact his or her mental capacity – is not only irresponsible but prioritizes that individual’s wellbeing over the lives of hundreds of staff and other inmates,” Secretary Ricky Dixon said in a statement provided to the Florida Record.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs also inaccurately referred to double-occupancy cells as “solitary confinement,” according to Dixon. In addition, Florida prisoners in restrictive housing are removed from the general inmate population due to security and safety issues arising from the actions of those prisoners, he said, adding that those in single-occupancy units continue to receive regular human contact.
The original complaint filed by the advocacy groups painted a grimmer picture of prison life.
“Every day, FDC isolates approximately 10,000 people in tiny, cramped cells for nearly 24 hours a day,” the complaint said. “Many endure these conditions for months or years at a time. FDC … severely restricts their access to normal human contact, exercise, rehabilitative programs and mental stimulation.”
An SPLC spokeswoman said no one was immediately available to discuss the case.