Several current and former inspectors at the Franklin Correctional Institution in Florida testified to lawmakers about corruption at the prison. They claimed supervisors told them to ignore evidence of wrongdoing by officers, including medical neglect of inmates, violence by gangs, and possible organized crime influence. One inmate death from being gassed in isolation was investigated but reports were fabricated. The Secretary of the Department of Corrections said these incidents were in the past but inspectors said corruption like daily assaults and murders were still occurring and going unchecked. Proper oversight is needed to investigate allegations of corruption and improve practices.

1. Corruption in Corrections 1
Corruption in Corrections
Richard W. Anderson
American Public University System
Professor Christopher Conley
CMRJ316
06 June 2015

2. Corruption in Corrections 2
Abstract
Corruption in America's correctional systems has existed in the past and to some extent it
remains a problem today, as a review of a Miami Herald article written March 10, 2015, by Mary
Ellen Klas and Julie K. Brown, demonstrates. Several former and current inspectors of the
Franklin Correctional Institution have presented charges against agency officials for interfering
with their investigation into possible corrupt occurrences within several Florida correctional
facilities. This paper reviews the allegations and underlying issues regarding corruption within
prison facilities, and suggests a course of action so as to eliminate or at the very least help
prevent further similar corrupt practices and/or incidents in the future.

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In a Miami Herald news article, dated 10 May, 2015, Mary Ellen Klas and Julie K.
Brown report that several current and former inspectors have testified to lawmakers over
concerns of possible corruption at the Franklin Correctional Institution. Investigators claim
supervisors have ordered subordinates to ignore evidence of wrongdoing within the Franklin
prison. Those testifying have also stated there is medical neglect, violence by security threat
groups, and possible organized crime influences. One death has already been noted, and the
suggestion of neglect has been presented. Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones
suggests the claims of incidents are few and occurred well into the past, and perhaps these should
be reasons not to give them much thought. There are also claims that those individuals raising
concerns about corruption are out of line with regards to their actual occupational
responsibilities. More efficient oversight into the prison's functions has been suggested (Klas &
Brown).

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Mary Ellen Klas and Julie Brown have written an article for the Miami Herald, dated 10
May, 2015, in which several current and former inspectors of the Franklin Correctional
Institution claim incidents of corruption have occurred within that facility by officers and
supervisors. Inspectors have testified to lawmakers that agency officials have interfered by
telling officers to ignore evidence of wrongdoing by officers with regards to neglect of inmate
medical needs, abuse of inmates, security threat group violence (gangs), and the possibility of
organized crime influences. Ignoring aspects of corruption was justified with the excuse and
reasoning that the agency would get a "black eye," were the illegal events brought to light (Klas
& Brown, 2015).
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee listened to investigators state that they were
advised by officials to withhold information from prosecutors and close ongoing investigations.
John Ulm, one of the testifying investigators and member of the Inspector General's office,
admitted that their organization can no longer police themselves, and oversight was needed. Ulm
claims that after being told to lay off certain cases, and pursued them anyway as a matter of
ethical conduct, officials in higher ranking in his office were threatened and/or retaliated against
in other ways. One specific case under investigation is the mysterious death of Randall Jordan-
Aparo, a 27-year-old inmate who, according to Ulm and others investigating officer's accounts of
the incident, died from being repeatedly gassed inside his isolation cell. Fabrication of reports
sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement concerning Aparo's death were felt to have
occurred. Ulm also testified that the Franklin facility is experiencing daily events of organized
crime involvement, murder, assaults, and other forms of horrible victimization which is going
unchecked (Klas & Brown, 2015).

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Other incidents include claims by Gulf County Sheriff Mike Harrison being told not to
pursue a case due to possible criminal charges being assessed at officials, and another event
which may have landed a warden at Calhoun Correctional Institution in hot water over suspected
intimidation of a witness over contraband smuggling within that facility. Harrison further
testified that two inmates at the Jackson Correctional Institution came close to losing their lives
due to medical neglect by a nurse that supposedly the warden was having an affair with (Klas &
Brown, 2015).
In defense of the corrections functions in general, Department of Corrections Secretary,
Julie Jones, stated that these incidents occurred in the past; perhaps suggesting they are no longer
relevant, but also admitted that the organization in question has always been under-funded as
well as understaffed. Inspector Aubrey Land supported the notion that poor staffing and a lack
of funding makes it difficult for employees to do their jobs with desired effectiveness. And,
when they (Land and peers) make suggestions to resolve problems, their ideas fall on deaf ears
(Klas & Brown, 2015). Clearly, when inmates are dying from being gassed in their cells, and
several supervisors are risking their jobs by presenting evidence suggesting improvement in
managerial practices are necessary, a closer look into why these events are occurring is also
needed.
The underlying issues related to the charges of corruption in the Klas & Brown article
suggest unethical practices are occurring in a few Florida prisons, and perhaps elsewhere, have to
do with the leadership of officials, from warden on down, in guiding their officers appropriately
to remain ethical in their words and actions, and take seriously the obligations they owe to
themselves, the inmates, the correctional systems in general, and to the families of incarcerated

6. Corruption in Corrections 6
offenders. What individual officers do, affect many more people than just themselves. Another
underlying issue is the incomprehensible notion that inspectors of baseline correctional officer
actions are being interfered with by supervising personnel. Inspectors need impunity to report
what they have discovered, and any interference at all for whatever reason should be dealt with
swiftly, and incorporate changes must be prompltly attended to.
A good course of action would be for further ongoing investigations by outside agencies
into the allegations being levied by the investigators in the many Florida institutions mentioned
in the Klas and Brown article. A review of all officers employed by these facilities should be
undertaken, and a closer look at inmate grievances should be reviewed as well. Previous training
methods for the officers suggested of wrongdoing should also be looked into, and current
training methods should be instituted. As far as funding issues, the entire country is
experiencing serious difficulties in this arena, and should not be viewed as a current escape route
for any problems that are surfacing. Non-money centered solutions, such as more meetings,
better communication, and stress support group sessions, need to be presented until ways of
bringing in more cash can occur.
Areas in which this article relates to elements of this corrections class include, but are not
limited to, ethical and strong leadership qualities among all agencies involved with American
criminal justice systems is important to strive for. Law enforcement organizations, as Sir Robert
Peel may have agreed, need outstanding law abiding individuals who represent, and conduct
themselves, according to high standards of behavior. There appears to be a question about this
according to some Florida law enforcement inspectors with regards to a few of their prisons.
Also, regular compliance checks, good medical staffing, the best possible recruiting methods,

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ongoing training according to the best known current practices, and an effort toward better
communication between prison staffs is essential to minimize the many problems America's
overcrowded prison systems experience in contemporary society (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2011,
p. 189). Another aspect where class content and the article collide is with regards to intermediate
sanctioning. In prison, isolation is employed as such; however, in the case of Randall Jordan-
Aparo, it became a death chamber, and the exact circumstances and causes for his eventual
demise should be thoroughly investigated, without any interference from anyone inside or
outside the facility.

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References
Klas, M., & Brown, J. (2015). Florida prisons riddled with corruption, staffers tell senators.
Miami Herald. March 10, 2015. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-
reports/florida-prisons/article13200422.html
Schmalleger, F., & Smykla, J.O. (2011). Corrections in the 21st century sixth edition, New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.