Sheriff gets Homeland Security guy, but 3 die in jail system in 2 weeks.

[madfloridian]

I have noticed the two inmate deaths and the death of a work release man in the jail parking lot, don't get much attention. Maybe one article, then not much else. I am not sure which jails in the county are privatized now, but something is broken. The sheriff, Grady Judd, is a professed man of God, and has even allowed faith-based dorms and baptisms in the jail. So these deaths are a concern.

Perhaps our county needs to look to home now and find out the details in these deaths. I give Grady his due on catching the Homeland Security guy, but now it is time to paying attention to the jail facilities here.

Second Polk Inmate in 2 Weeks Dies

FROSTPROOF -- For the second time in two weeks, a Polk County Jail inmate has died while in custody.

David Cowles, 23, an inmate in South County Jail in Frostproof, was pronounced dead about 12:30 a.m. Saturday after a bout of convulsions, according to a Polk County sheriff's report. Cowles, of Frostproof, had been "eating cookies" baked in the jail's kitchen with two other inmates, said sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers.

And the previous death is written up here.

Polk Inmate's Death Part of Bigger Issue

BARTOW -- James Lee Griffin was pacing the parking lot of an IHOP restaurant in Lake Wales when city police arrived shortly before 4 a.m. March 18.

He was putting on his shirt, appeared flustered and said he had been kicked out of his house. Because being out after 10 p.m. violated his probation, Griffin, 21, was taken to jail. He died there, less than two days later, after fighting with deputies.

The Lake Wales man's death -the subject of four investigations -- focuses attention on the large number of inmates with mental illnesses and their impact on the jail system here and nationwide.

And here is the one in the parking lot.
Man Dies in County Jail Parking Lot

Bryan Shiba is the third person in the jail system to die in the past two weeks.

BARTOW -- A man who was participating in a jail work-release program collapsed in the parking lot of the Central County Jail in Bartow and died Sunday morning. Bryan Shiba, 54, of Poinciana, became the third person in the Polk County Jail system to die in the past two weeks.

However, unlike the two inmates who died inside a jail facility, Shiba was on a work-release program and wasn't incarcerated when he died. Shiba was sentenced to 10 days in the work release program for driving while his license was suspended, according to a Polk County Sheriff's Office report.

He was released Sunday morning some- time between 8:20 and 8:45 a.m. At 8:54 a.m. he was found unconscious and partially in the driver's seat of his car, according to Sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilder.

This article really has little relation to the 3 above deaths, yet in a way it does. A county which allows faith based dorms, and jail baptisms should be a lot more concerned about the care of the inmates.

Former Inmate Helps Bring Faith-Based Program To Polk County Jail

The group of men, clad in vivid, orange Polk County Jail jumpsuits and slippers, clutched Bibles and gave praise to God. "Open the eyes of my heart," they sang. "I want to see you."

An unusual scenario? It may become more common as more Polk County Jail inmates participate in the jail Faith-Based Program, where inmates volunteer to receive spiritual guidance, to learn life skills and to build a mindset to stay out of jail.

The vision for the program started with Teresa Kemp, a former Polk County Jail inmate, who suggested the religious program to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd last year.

The Sheriff's Office runs the Polk County Jail.

The program began in May with a group of male and female inmates, and now there's a waiting list of inmates wanting to take part, Judd said. About 100 volunteers for the program were honored recently, and four Central County Jail inmates, Maurvis Smith, Andrew Mitts, Rhonda Brown and Kimberly Johnson, were dunked in a freezing tub of water to be baptized.

Many have ulterior motives for taking part in these programs. In Faith Based dorms some get more attention and special privileges.

[Janice325]

1. Thanks for those links, madfloridian

When it hit the media, I found it curious that a guy in Maryland was busted by someone in Florida. It made me go "hmmmmm" but I usually do that regarding anything Florida related. By the way,I'm not trying to infer anything. I'm just wondering how Florida cops were the ones going after him.
I did find in rather amusing (in a sad way) that the two folks on CNN (John Roberts was one, I don't know the name of the woman) looked really uncomfortable when they were reporting on the DHS guy.

[madfloridian]

3. A lot here are wondering the same thing.

A lot of wondering going on. They appear to be more bent on ....okay I'll say it...policing morality, than about looking to tend to their job with the inmates.

I heard Grady has prayer meetings, I heard his predecessor did as well.

So let's be good Christians, and do our jobs.

[madfloridian]

2. And they need to stop raiding small poker parties, hauling them to jail.

There is so much real crime around, and inmates are dying. Time to get real, look to home...Grady Judd.

Deputies Raid Bar in Gambling Crackdown

LAKELAND -- A night of poker with a $240 payoff landed a Lakeland bar and a group of card players in hot water with the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

On March 23, the sheriff's Vice Unit busted TJ's Lounge, at 3201 U.S. 98 S., and arrested its owner, 60-year-old Teresa Johnson, 64-year-old Elmo Haynes and 59-year-old bar worker James Coogler, a sheriff's report said. They were each charged with one count of establishing a gambling place and were held on $1,000 bail, records show.

And a few words from lawyers on this concentration on such small poker parties:

Criminal defense lawyer John Liguori said sheriff's deputies should reconsider making gambling arrests for small games.

"To doggedly pursue these innocuous activities just baffles me," the Bartow lawyer said Wednesday. "It never ceases to amaze me the length law enforcement goes in trying to justify their existence."

"The law enforcement perspective on the seriousness of this crime is way overblown in my opinion," Liguori said. "I don't think this would jeopardize the moral fiber of Polk County or the lives of women and children."

I am inclined to agree with Mr. Liguori. Let's find out why those folks are dying in the jail system.

[madfloridian]

4. A kick before oblivion...to keep Grady Judd from being too big

for his britches with all this national attention. Look to home, Sheriff Judd.