TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In today’s climate of mass incarceration and lack of accountability, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released an evidence-based report on the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC). The report highlights the root causes and human toll of prison brutality over a 10-year period, from 2014 to 2024, focusing on violence and abuse at Florida’s Gulf Correctional Institution.
The report focuses on Gulf Correctional as one of the prisons with the highest number of complaints about excessive force and the most failures to protect people from violence. The findings stem from personal testimonies of nearly 100 incarcerated people and thousands of public records. Incarcerated individuals and those who have been released share horrifying accounts of life behind prison walls, emphasizing a code of silence among correctional officers. Examples include officers “sadistically” beating and abusing incarcerated people, even those who had been fully restrained.
“Our team interviewed 95 incarcerated victims and reviewed 20,000 pages of prison records, identifying over 1,000 incidents of abuse, violence and corruption at Gulf Correctional,” said Tieffa Harper, deputy legal director, SPLC. “The systemic violence in Gulf is predictable given the extreme overcrowding within the Florida Department of Corrections. Florida, with one of the highest incarceration rates in the U.S., should reduce its prison population to reduce the harms inflicted on the incarcerated people and ultimately all Floridians.”
Those in prison endure or witness severe violence, including head strikes, body slams, chemical agents sprayed at close range, stabbings and repeated kicks and punches almost daily. Officers who engage in these brutal practices are seldom held accountable.
The report also reveals a troubling correlation between slavery and the behavior of FDC officers. Officers oversee a predominantly Black population of 1,500 incarcerated individuals and resort to tactics reminiscent of enslavers, including violence, degrading punishments and threats.
Additional findings from the report include:
- FDC officers subjected people in custody to degrading and torturous punishments, such as forcibly shaving their heads and eyebrows or forcing them to sleep directly on steel bunks in cold weather without clothing.
- FDC officers avoided accountability by falsifying reports and intimidating and assaulting individuals who reported abuse or sought protection.
- FDC officers also moved incarcerated people out of camera view before beating them, and then investigators refused to substantiate the beatings because there was no camera evidence.
- FDC failed to control gang activity and contraband, leading to stabbings, overdoses and homicides due to the failure to protect vulnerable individuals.
The SPLC identifies overcrowding, particularly low ratios of staff to incarcerated people, as the primary cause of violence within the FDC. Gulf Correctional operates with less than 50% of the staff necessary for ensuring safety. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG), responsible for reviewing all uses of force and referring cases for prosecution or discipline, is also severely understaffed.
The Florida Gulf Correctional Institution Report can be found here.
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About the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.