Florida’s 98,000 incarcerated citizens had a voice today at the Florida Department of Corrections public hearing. Prisoner support groups gathered for three hours to implore the department to reconsider a proposed visitation policy change.
Mothers, fathers, family members, and inmate advocates took turns at the podium speaking against the new Visitation Schedule proposed by the DOC. Instead of every weekend, visitation would be reduced to every other weekend. The FDOC says this change is due to short staffing. Kyle Williford, Director of Incarcerated Relations at the Campaign for Prison Reform, argues the department seeks to make a profit.
“The bottom line is numbers; it’s not humanity.”
A $28 million DOC budget cut also means limiting re-entry, mental illness, and substance abuse programs.
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