When Teen Detainees Died in Custody in Jeb Bush’s Florida

[DonViejo]

Betsy Woodruff

One boy with appendicitis was told nothing was ‘wrong with his ass.’ Another was viciously beaten by guards. And none of those responsible got jail time.

In 2003, 17-year-old Omar Paisley spent three days in a Florida jail cell moaning in agony. Prison staff said he was faking his illness and told him to suck it up. Then he died.

This year and last, the deaths of numerous African-Americans at the hands or in the custody of prison officials and police—including Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, and, most recently, Sandra Bland —have drawn renewed (and belated) national media attention to the state of the criminal justice system. And that, in turn, has made candidates’ stances and records on criminal justice policy a factor in the 2016 presidential race.

It’s a particularly sensitive topic for Jeb Bush, who as governor faced two situations that mirror the deaths of Gray and Bland, both of whom died while in police custody. When Bush was governor of Florida, two teenagers died preventable deaths while in juvenile detention centers. And Bush’s approach to their cases casts some light on how he might look at criminal justice issues if he becomes president.

Paisley’s death could have been averted, and it took a long time. The African-American teenager was put in the 226-bed Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center “for cutting another youth with a soda can,” the AP reported, and he filled out a form on June 7—one day after going to the jail—saying he was ill.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/23/when-teen-detainees-died-in-custody-in-jeb-bush-s-florida.html

[KG]

1. just cuz there aren't troops in the street asking for 'your papers' don't mean we don't live in a

police state