Harold Hempstead speaks out from a Florida jail cell to inform the
authorities – and the public – of the malpractice of the Florida Department of
Corrections.
The neglect, failings and
crimes of this department are innumerable and profoundly serious and, so far, Harold Hempstead, the ‘Caged Crusader’ has exposed murder, torture, starvation,
brutality, corruption and failure to protect from harm.
His tireless efforts, including writing over
80 letters of complaint to the Florida authorities, initiated an investigation
into the slaughter of Darren Rainey – but only after Hempstead finally managed
to contact the Miami Herald newspaper who broke the story. Darren Rainey was killed in a 183° shower, in
which he was locked for nearly two hours by a guard named Roland Clark on 23rd
June 2012. This specially adapted
shower-stall had an extra water-inlet that was fed from a hot-tank in an
adjoining closet. This improvised torture-chamber
was first tested on a convict named Daniel Geiger, who died in custody on 7th
November 2016. (See my previous
blog) On 5th May 2016 Harold
Hempstead gave a highly detailed report of the extra-judicial killing of Darren
Rainey to the U.S. Department of Justice, amongst other recipients. On 15th March 2016 he submitted an
affidavit describing FDC’s policy of deliberately mixing the categories of
prisoners who are required by law to be separated. The most vulnerable inmates are being preyed
upon by the most dangerous and violent.
Once again, FDC is flagrantly failing to carry out its duties in a
proper and lawful manner. Links to these
affidavits appear below.
The affidavit of 4th November, 2016 describes FDC’s failure
to protect children, women and men in the prison visitation parks, where sexual
predators are free to abuse their victims.
The document contains material of a disturbing nature and is not
suitable for young people – it is, however, highly suitable reading for the
U.S. Department of Justice, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Department
of Children and Families, Chief Inspector General for the Governor, etc..
"SWORN AFFIDAVIT
To: U.S. Department
of Justice, Attn: Vanita Gupta,
Assistant U.S. Attorney General, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington
D.C., 2053o.
Department of Children and Families, Attn: Mike Carroll, Secretary, 2383 Phillips Road, Tallahassee,
Florida 32301.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Attn: Richard
Swearingen, Commissioner, P.O.Box 1489, Tallahassee, Florida 32302.
Florida Department of Corrections {FDC} staff have been
permitting sex offenders and predators to congregate with children at parks on
a weekly basis at every close custody institution in Florida where sex
offenders and predators are incarcerated.
These sex offenders and predators are committing lewd and lascivious
acts and sexual battery on children and adults at the parks FDC is permitting
them to visit. FDC staff are aware of
the foregoing and they haven’t done anything to stop the incarcerated sex
offenders and predators from doing the foregoing.
Florida Statute :
775.21 is “The Florida Sexual Predators Act”. Florida Statute : 775.21 (3) (A) and (B)
reads:
“(A) Repeat sexual offenders who use physical violence, and
sexual offenders who prey on children are sexual predators who present an
extreme threat to the public safety.
Sexual offenders are extremely likely to use physical violence and to
repeat their offenses, and most sexual offenders commit many offenses, have
many more victims than are ever reported, and are prosecuted for only a fraction
of their crimes. This makes the cost of
sexual offender victimisation to society at large, while incalculable, clearly
exorbitant.”
“(B) The high level of threat that a sexual predator
presents to the public safety, and the long term effects suffered by victims of
sex offenses, provide the state with sufficient justification to implement a
strategy…”
Florida Statute 775.21 (4) list the criteria that sex
offenders must meet in order to be deemed a sexual predator.
Florida Statute 775.21 (10) (B) explains how a sexual
predator commits a felony, if he visits a business, school, child care
facility, park, playground or other place where children regularly congregate
even if their job requires them to do such.
The legislature deems protecting adults and children from
sex offenders and predators so serious that they passed Florida Statute 775.215
(Residency Restriction For Persons Convicted Of Sex Offenses) making it a crime
as high as a first degree felony for sex offenders to even have a residence
within 1,000 feet of a school, child
care facility, park, or playground.
If a judge issues an order preventing a sex offender or
predator from having visitation with children while in FDC, FDC has a rule that
says they will honor the foregoing type of court order (FAC 33-601.720).
However, if a court
doesn’t issue an order preventing a sex offender or predator from visiting with
children, FDC staff won’t comply with the Florida statutes herein and other
Florida statutes and limit them from visiting with children in FDC.
Also, FDC staff are allowing sex offenders and predators to
receive visits from adults at the visitation parks in FDC on the same days, and
at the same time, that inmates who aren’t sex offenders are receiving visits
from children.
In other words FDC has been allowing convicted sex offenders
and predators to attend the visitation park every Saturday and Sunday where the
children of non-sex offenders are. FDC
has even been allowing sex offenders and predators who the court issued orders
restricting their visitation with their kids and other kids to attend the
visitation park every weekend where kids are visiting with inmates not
convicted of sex offenses. FDC’s
reasoning behind the foregoing is that according to the paperwork the children
are visiting with non-sex offenders.
Additionally, FDC staff are obviously aware of all the laws
(statutes) mentioned herein and that they under any circumstance are not supposed
to allow sex offenders or predators to attend visitation parks when children
are congregating at them. To permit the
foregoing is to permit sex offenders and predators to violate the Florida
statutes mentioned herein.
Also, sex offenders and predators are committing lewd and
lascivious acts and sexual batteries on children in the visitation parks FDC
staff are permitting them to visit.
Sex offenders and predators are known for looking at
children very lustfully in visitation parks.
They are also known for looking up the dresses of ladies and juvenile
girls and up the shorts of ladies and children.
Sex offenders and predators are known for showing the shape
of their private area with their hands through their pants to ladies and
children in visitation parks.
Sex offenders and predators place their children and
children they know on other inmates visitation lists so the sex offenders and
predators can visit with their children and children (i.e. their children,
grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and friends children) in FDC visitation parks.
Sex offenders and predators touch the children of other
visitors improperly in FDC visitation parks.
They hug children, tap kids on their buttocks, touch and grab their
legs, and touch the private areas of children.
Sex offenders and predators use their fingers to penetrate
the rectums and vaginas of juvenile females and the rectums of juvenile boys in
FDC visitation parks.
FDC records show the visitation parks are insecure. Records show cellular phones, narcotics, and
tobacco are smuggled into FDC visitation parks on a weekly basis, and that
inmates are having sexual relations in them with other adults. These facts prove the insecure status of FDC
visitation parks.
FDC is aware that the violations of the Florida statutes
mentioned herein have been going on for a long time. They have elected to not do anything about
the foregoing because of the inconvenience it would cause them and because of
how much it’d cost FDC to fix the foregoing problems.
During affiants’ close to 18 years of incarceration he’s
witnessed the matters herein, has been told by other inmates who witnessed the
foregoing, and has spoken with sex offenders that have done the foregoing.
Florida statute : 20.315 reads in part: “…The Secretary is responsible for planning,
coordinating, and managing the corrections system of the State. The Secretary shall ensure that the programs
and services of the Department are administered in accordance with State and
Federal laws, rules, and regulations, with established program standards and
consistent with legislative intent.” The
Secretary has failed to comply with this statute as it concerns the violations
mentioned herein.
Florida statute : 944.31 reads in part: “… The office of the Inspector General shall
see that all the rules and regulations issued by the Department are strictly
observed and followed by all persons connected with the correctional systems of
the State…” and “… The Inspector General
and Inspectors shall be responsible for criminal and administrate investigation
of matters relating to the Department of Corrections…” The FDC Inspector General’s Office has failed
to comply with this statute as it concerns the violations mentioned herein.
Florida Statute : 944.14 reads: “Subject to the orders, policies, and
regulations establish by the Department, it shall be the duties of the Wardens
to supervise the government, discipline, and policy of the State correctional
institutions, and to enforce all orders, rules and regulations.” The Wardens at each institution have failed
to comply with this statute as it concerns the violations mentioned herein.
Over the close to 18 years that affiant has been incarcerated
in FDC other inmates have attempted to get FDC to correct the matters
herein. All of these inmates have been
subjected to some type of retaliation.
History shows FDC would rather subject inmates to retaliation for trying
to get this serious matter corrected then stop sex offenders and predators from
committing the violations of state law mentioned herein.
It is reasonable to say that thousands (if not tens of
thousands) of sex offenders and predators in FDC are allowed to visit FDC
visitation parks (FAC 33-601.721) where children congregate on a weekly
basis. Also, it’s fair to say that
hundreds if not thousands of adults and children are being victimized on a
weekly basis by the sex offenders and predators that are allowed to be in the
visitation parks with them.
Based on the foregoing affiant respectfully requests that
the U.S. Department of Justice, Florida Department of Children and Families,
and Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigate the matters stated
herein, and that the Florida Department of Children and Families issue
protective orders protecting the children of visitors to FDC from any further
victimization by sexual offenders and predators.
UNNOTARIZED OATH
Under penalty of perjury, I swear that everything stated
herein is true and correct.
Date 11-4-16 Affiant
: (signature appears here on original handwritten document)
Harold Hempstead, D.C.# 268866, Okeechobee Correctional
Institution, 3420 Northeast 168th
Street, Okeechobee, Florida 34972.
C.C. Julie K.Brown
(Miami Herald)
Michele Gillen (CBS 4 Miami)
Eyal Press (New Yorker Magazine)
Craig Patrick (WTVT Fox 13 Tampa)
Clair McNeill (Tampa Bay Times)
Pat Beall (Palm Beach Post)
Howard Simon (ACLU Florida)
Steven Wetstein (Stop Prison Abuse Now)
Randall Berg (Florida Justice Institute)
Peter Sleasman (Florida Legal Service)
Lance T. Weber (Human Rights Defense Center)
Greg Evers (Florida Senator)
Melinda Miguel (Chief Inspector General for the Governor)
Windy Hempstead
Susan Chandler
George Mallinckrodt
Jeremy Schanche
Second Chance Effort Project
Forgotten Majority"
