FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

A man convicted of killing and sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another woman in separate South Florida attacks in 1984 is set to be executed next month.

Florida has executed a man convicted of breaking into a woman's home and stabbing her to death in 1986.

A sergeant for the Florida Department of Corrections was arrested Tuesday for DUI, with a blood alcohol level that was over three times the legal limit, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.

Florida has executed a man known as the “ninja killer” for the 1989 slayings of a couple visiting the state from New Jersey.

A man convicted of breaking into a woman’s Florida Panhandle apartment and fatally stabbing her 37 times in 1986 is set to be executed next month.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has an execution date for a man dubbed the “ninja killer” in a 1989 double slaying.

Charges against three Lake County correctional officer accused in the 2019 beating of an inmate have been dropped.

As the state continues to struggle with a shortage of correctional officers, a legislative panel next week will consider a plan that would activate Florida National Guard members to help at prisons, according to a document published Friday.

New incentives and hiring bonuses were announced Wednesday for Florida correctional officers, according to a release from the governor’s office.

The Florida Department of Corrections is temporarily closing several North Florida prisons due to flooding at one facilty and staffing shortages in the others.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After federal officials last week released a report about staff members sexually abusing women inmates at Lowell Correctional Institution, state Sen. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, sent a letter calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to “act decisively” and request the resignation of the prison’s warden. “These women deserve better.”[TRENDING: How to get vaccine in Florida | Will vaccine work on new strains? | Strange Florida: Here’s the proof]An investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and Florida federal prosecutors found reasonable cause to believe “varied and disturbing reports” of sexual abuse --- including rape --- by sergeants, correctional officers and other staff at Lowell, which is in Marion County. The 34-page report of the investigation, which began in 2018, also noted that state Department of Corrections officials have documented and been aware of sexual abuse at Lowell since at least 2006.

According to the report, the Florida Department of Corrections has known about this pattern of staff sexual abuse at the prison since at least 2006. “Lowell has a long-standing pattern of criminal charges, discipline and documented allegations of staff sexual abuse,” the report reads. The investigation found Lowell and the FDOC are violating inmates’ Constitutional rights by failing to protect them from serious harm. Under the Eighth Amendment, a prisoner has the right to be reasonably protected from sexual abuse. “Sexual abuse is never acceptable, and it is not part of any prisoner’s sentence.”

OKAHUMPKA, Fla. – A Florida Department of Corrections inmate attacked a corrections officer along John Young Parkway Thursday and fled in a vehicle before crashing in Lake County, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The incident happened around 12:52 p.m. at North John Young Parkway and East Way Expressway when the inmate hit a corrections officer with a shovel and then stole his agency truck, according to the sheriff’s office. [TRENDING: Animal nearly severs woman’s arm at Carole Baskin’s rescue | CDC: Avoid travel to Mexico | Brightline targets 2022 for OIA station]The Sheriff’s Office helicopter was able to track the vehicle to Lake County where the inmate crashed at County Road 48 and County Road 470 in Okahumpka. The inmate, identified as Dalton J. Ayers, was apprehended by law enforcement in Lake County. The corrections officer suffered minor injuries, deputies said, although the Florida Department of Corrections said the correctional officer was “brutally attacked.”“These types of escapes are extremely rare.

CLERMONT, Fla. – A Florida Department of Corrections officer was arrested Monday and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the June death of an inmate in Lake County. Michael Raymond Riley Jr., 27, was arrested by Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies following a months-long Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into the death of an inmate at Lake Correctional Institution. FDLE investigators said the victim died as a result of Riley’s actions but did not state the inmate’s cause of death. “The Florida Department of Corrections has zero tolerance for the malicious application of force,” Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Mark Inch said in a statement. If an officer acts outside of their authorities and the standards of the Department, they will be held accountable.

A Florida inmate who was left paralyzed after guards beat her to the point that her neck broke has been awarded more than $4 million as part of a settlement in a civil rights lawsuit. Cheryl Weimar said she was incarcerated at Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala in 2019 when four guards nearly beat her to death. As a result, her neck was broken and she was left paraplegic, records show. She filed a lawsuit in September and shortly thereafter, reports began to surface that other inmates who witnessed the beating were being intimidated by guards who told them that they would meet the same fate as Weimar. As part of the settlement in that lawsuit, the Florida Department of Corrections agreed earlier this month to pay Weimar $4.65 million.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A 79-year-old man was killed by another inmate last week at a Florida prison, officials said. Nelson Sanderson was pronounced dead Aug. 17 following an attack at the Century Correctional Institute in Escambia County, the Pensacola News Journal reported. He was serving two life sentences for sex offenses involving a juvenile, according to Florida Department of Corrections records. Officials declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the attack or to name the attacker. The homicide investigation is being conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with assistance from the Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General.

LAKE CITY, Fla. The Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections has tested positive for COVID-19 after a visit to Columbia Correctional Institution. The FDC said Mark Inch has mild symptoms and will self-isolate for two weeks. Just like the numerous correctional and probation officers and staff who weve asked to stay home and recuperate after a positive test, Deputy Secretary Dixon and I are self-isolating as a result of our recent COVID-19 test results. We both look forward to returning to work as quickly as allowed by CDC guidelines, said Secretary Inch. I want to encourage all Floridians to continue protecting our vulnerable residents, practice proper hygiene, wear masks when in close contact with others and practice social distancing to slow the spread of this virus.The FDC said there has been 1,300 cases of coronavirus related to the Columbia Correctional Institution.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Three women at two Florida state prisons in Marion County died due to complications of the coronavirus, according to the Florida Department of Health. Two women died at Lowell Correctional Institution and one woman died at Florida Women’s Reception Center. The state reported the deaths Wednesday in its COVID-19 inmate spreadsheet. On Wednesday, the Department of Health-Marion County said in a news release of the 386 new positive cases in the county, 290 were from correctional facilities. As of Wednesday, the state has reported nearly 1,000 COVID-19 cases at three facilities in Marion: 358 at the Florida Women’s Reception Center, 629 at Lowell Correctional Institution and four positive cases at Marion Correctional Institution, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

On Monday, the Department of Health-Marion County said in a news release of the nearly 350 new positive cases, 202 were from correctional facilities. Additionally, 952 inmates at Lowell Correctional, 577 at FWRC and 122 at Marion Correctional are under medical quarantine. Staff members at all three facilities have tested positive as well, including 20 at Lowell, 22 at FWRC and 5 at Marion Correctional. As of Tuesday, 3,228 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Marion County since March, including 51 who have died as a result of the virus. None of the deaths have been connected to the correctional facilities, according to the Department of Health.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Department of Corrections is investigating a use of force incident after the death of an inmate at the Lake Correctional Institution. FDC said the incident happened on Thursday and the inmate was rushed to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. The inmate died from those injures on Friday, according to FDC. The name of the inmate has not been released at this time. The FDC Office of Inspector General will review the incident.

The Florida Department of Corrections says three of its officers were killed in a crash on Interstate 95 Thursday. The wreck also left a 15-year-old girl with serious injures and closed the interstate near Titusville for several hours, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The triple fatal wreck happened around 5:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-95 just north of State Road 407 near Titusville. The FHP said a 2004 Ford Expedition carrying four people was going north on I-95 when a Kia SUV entered the highway from State Road 407. The Florida Department of Corrections confirmed the three victims were corrections officers who were on their way to go fishing when the crash happened.

The Florida Department of Corrections on Saturday dismissed a correctional officer for allegations of inmate abuse. Qualesha Quayshaun Williams, who was assigned to Lowell Correctional Institution, was dismissed for misconduct after an investigation was conducted following an allegation of abuse, authorities said. Williams was arrested for poisoning food or water, which is a felony, authorities said.

Ron DeSantis’ administration is appealing decisions ordering state corrections officials to drop efforts to switch from 12-hour to eight-hour work shifts without negotiating the changes with a union representing prison employees. The corrections agency initiated the eight-hour shifts at five prison mental-health units, after asking the Legislature for money to launch the pilot program. The eight-hour shifts are also in effect at two state prisons, according to court documents. “This was somebody’s brainchild, this eight-hour shift, and for whatever reason, they don’t want to give it up. Instead of reducing overtime for workers, correctional officers working eight-hour shifts end up working two shifts, back-to-back, Matt Puckett, the union’s executive director, told the News Service.