'Simply terrible': Florida inmates desperate for reform in food and living conditions

Inmates use one word to describe life within Florida's prison walls: deplorable.

Molding food, improper portions, sauna-like temperatures in the cells and more are making inmates feel that their lives are unbearable.

Complaints about their quality of life come just weeks after inspections shined light on the horrible conditions plaguing Florida's prison system, but inmates say these problems existed long before reports were released — and the state's incarcerated are desperate for change.

Inhumane living environments and unsanitary food options are just a few of the major pitfalls revealed by separate investigations of the state and federal prison systems in Florida.

"It's pretty bad here, and I have been to some bad spots," said Alexander Curry, an inmate since 2013 who's currently at Florida State Prison.

Florida prisoners are hopeful the reports will kickstart well-overdue improvements.

The Tallahassee Democrat randomly selected a handful of inmates in state-run institutions across the state from the institutions' list of inmates and received responses from inmates currently held in Madison, Lowell, Union, Columbia and Suwannee Correctional Institutions and Florida State Prison. Inmates corresponded through JPay, an electronic messaging system that services the country’s prison system.

The Florida Department of Corrections did not deny or confirm the conditions that are afflicting the more than 80,000 inmates housed in the 143 statewide facilities when the Tallahassee Democrat asked for comment. The department only explained the provisions in place and said they have met the standards.

'Nobody should have to sleep like this'

Air-conditioning — which Floridians deem a necessity — is considered a luxury to thousands of inmates across the state.

Conditions vary institution to institution, but KPMG, the company the FDC hired to devise a prison system "master plan," reported to lawmakers that 75% of all housing units lack air-conditioning units.

The company estimates it will require between $6.3 billion and $11.9 billion of taxpayers' dollars to revamp the dilapidating buildings over the next 20 years.

The FDC said newer institutions have air-conditioning but those that don't have "some form of climate control to mitigate heat, such as fans or exhaust systems, which create a high level of air exchange to cool the building."

"Every institution is audited and compliant with standards from the American Correctional Association regarding ventilation and HVAC systems," the FDC said.

Madison Correctional Institution doesn't have any air-conditioning units, said Julio Rivera, an inmate whose interview was translated from Spanish, only exhaust fans that force air into the rooms.

"The two-man cells do not have adequate ventilation and in the summer resemble a sauna," said Rivera, 48, sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and kidnapping.

There are heaters for the winter months, he said, but it's hit or miss if they will work.

Marvin Jones, an inmate since 2013 who's currently at Suwannee Correctional Institution, has lived in numerous places but experience has relatively been the same, he said.

Lake Correctional Institution didn't have air or working exhaust fans, so the dorms get "exceedingly hot," said Jones, 33, who was sentenced to 30 years for second-degree murder and aggravated assault. The confinement unit at Avon Park Correctional Institution doesn't have airflow, windows or fire sprinklers.

"I've been to many prisons, but Florida State Prison is by far the worst offender of structural offenses and human rights violations," Jones said.

Some buildings at Lowell Correctional Institution don't have air-conditioning causing mold to grow on their walls and showers, said Linda Wright, an inmate since 1999 who's currently at the institution.

Some of the state's prisons have been operating since the early 1900s, and the deteriorating amenities are beginning to show the buildings' ages.

Most of Lowell's population haven't been given new mattresses, said Wright, 71, who was sentenced to life in prison for aggravated battery and selling cocaine. The mattresses are so flat, she said, that they have to shove the stuffing to one side because otherwise it's like sleeping on metal.

"This then only gives you half a mattress," Wright said. "Nobody should have to sleep like this."

The open population at Union Correctional Institution has air conditioning, but death row does not, said Richard Elbert, an inmate since 2014 who's currently at the institution. The summer conditions in the death row unit are "sweltering and deplorable," he said, and the inmates sleep drenched in their sweat.

Elbert, 59, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison for burglary, said even he wakes up in a pool of his own sweat in the air-conditioned unit.

"Knowing self is going to die at the hand of man, at any moment, is enough to have to endure," he said. "They shouldn't have to endure sweating all day and night too!"

Underprepared and unsanitary

FCI Tallahassee, one of Florida's eight federal institutions, made national headlines after the Federal Bureau of Prisons released a summer inspection report in early November. Inspectors found that molding and rotting foods were being served to inmates, as well as the presence of rat droppings and insect infestation in food storage units.

While the surprise inspection was only in the federal prison nestled in the state capital, inmates say the state institutions are experiencing similar realities.

Curry said the food is hardly ever prepared properly at Florida State Prison.

"The menu is not followed, and when it is, the portions are almost never sufficient for a grown man," he said. "Not to mention filthy trays and food prepared unfit for a human especially in what we claim is supposed to be the most civilized nation in the world."

Food portions at Lowell are also getting smaller, Wright said, and accommodations for people with diseases such as diabetes aren't receiving adequate diet trays.

"Inmates are going to bed hungry," she said. "And the food is always cold, roaches all over the place."

Aaron Beckworth, 36, an inmate since 2021 who is sentenced to 10 years in prison for carjacking with a deadly weapon and grand theft, said they never get what's on the menu, and the food trays are moldy at Suwannee Correctional Institution. Before he was moved there, he used to be housed at Hardee Correctional Institution where he said conditions were the same.

The prisons rotate a four-week cycle master menu, the FDC said. Entrees, vegetables, cooked dried beans and desserts are all featured on the menu, and alternate meatless entrée options are offered with each meal.

"The menu is designed to meet caloric requirements, is reviewed by a registered dietitian, and provides an average of 2,762 calories per day," the FDC said.

Elbert said the food and the air-conditioning issues at Union are the most concerning. "Otherwise, the living conditions are reasonable here, I won't complain," Elbert said.

Large rats have been spotted in the mess hall, he said, and the food is so undesirable that inmates often throw it out instead of eating it.

Inmates at Union are served "so-called meat patties that were condemned by the DOC years ago," he said. They got a new food vendor but are being served "the same garbage that was discontinued."

"Whatever it is, it cannot be healthy," Elbert said.

Inmates at Madison are also served patties almost every day, sometimes twice a day, that Rivera said are made up of chicken and textured vegetable protein .

He said there's a 4-week menu that gets approved, but "the food is simply terrible."

Friends and family of inmates can provide them with small amounts of money to buy an assortment of things at little stores that operate inside the prisons, but the prices are "extraordinarily expensive" and the options are just as terrible, he said.

A three ounce packet of ramen is $1.06, a sleeve of crackers is $2.80 and a six-ounce bag of coffee is $7, he said.

"As always, the promises of more and better food seemed incredible," Rivera said. "In the end, they were the same — lies and false promises."

Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida inmates plead for change amid 'deplorable' prison conditions