REASON: Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders Pretends Prisoners Are Patients
So far the civil commitment program has incarcerated Whipple three times longer than the prison sentence he served. The hunger strike, which involved a dozen of the program’s 737 “clients,” ended last week after state officials promised meetings where protesters could air their complaint that there is no “clear pathway” to release from their indefinite confinement. But those meetings surely will not resolve the fundamental problem with programs like this, which evade constitutional constraints by pretending that prisoners are patients.
Your piece: REASON: Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders Pretends Prisoners Are Patients, was welcome and interesting. What is not welcome, and is very interesting, is that you completely ignore the men who are languishing at the Florida Civil Commitment Center in Arcadia, Florida, where the state houses its sexually violent predators who have been sent there post prison for “treatment.” They too were on a hunger strike recently. About four dorms refused their meals recently, to protest that Wellpath Recovery Solutions, LLC., the Corporation who operates the Center for DCF, is was planning to confiscate personal property that they had been allowed to purchase and possess, i.e., Xboxes etc. The Hunger Strike shook up the Corp enough where they have set aside their confiscation plans. Why did you not print something about this? Why do you never print anything about the men being held at FCCC, for life, after having served their criminal sentences. The pandemic at FCCC has been devastating, yet you print nothing about their plight over that. Why do you ignore the largest prison for post prison sex offenders in the country? Right in your backyard, and you ignore them. This is indefensible for a publication that advertises itself as you do. You have hundreds of men at FCCC being housed-and not treated-many of whom are abused, refused treatment, both medical and psychiatric, who’s rights are being crushed; it goes on and on. Bruce Plesser, Esquire, and myself, have been demanding changes there and have filed numerous complaints and lawsuits. It would make a lot of sense if you were to take a look and do something about FCCC. Shame on you for ignoring Florida’s own involuntary committed men yet write of other such places around the country. Do something.
Damian – this was an article in Reason Magazine. Not our content.
Thanks for that info. It is a good thing to print the article-that was not my argument. But-the Florida Civil Commitment Center, in our own backyard, is in the throes of a series of unconstitutional, dangerous and virus spreading changes there. We (Bruce Plesser, Esq.) are in the process of plugging into your great publication to assist in the ways that we can, to spread the word about the needless suffering and outrageous acts and omissions by Wellpath Recovery Solutions, LLC (Corp that operates FCCC) and to share litigation we are bringing to address the issues, and litigation that is presently open, and to assist the publication in any way we can.
With the New Florida compliance placed on me after the fact every couple years. I’m headed to being a old age patient keeper alive in jail in my old age because the State made it impossible to take care of myself