Prison Security Levels In Florida
The scary images you see of prisons in fictional portrayals are enough to scare anyone into staying on the right side of the law. Inmates work all week to be able to afford a packet of ramen noodles. They walk single file down the cell block, sometimes with chains around their ankles. They spend their days between close scrutiny by prison guards or violence at the hands of fellow inmates. This is not how all prisons are, to be sure. If they were, this fact would immediately expose the falsehood of the claim that prisons are meant to enable people to readjust quickly to life on the outside after their release. Not every prison sentence is a dystopia like what Edward Norton’s character in The 25th Hour fears so much that he asks his friends to beat him up before he reports to prison to serve his sentence, so that the other inmates will think that he is used to fighting and therefore will think twice before terrorizing him. Before you decide to accept or reject a plea deal that includes prison time, consider what the conditions inside the prison will be like. If you are facing charges for a nonviolent felony where a conviction could result in prison time, contact a Tampa criminal defense lawyer.
Relax, It’s Only Minimum-Security Prison?
Yes, Florida has lots of prisons; it seems like one of the few growth industries these days. Not all the prisons are interchangeable. Besides the federal and state courts sentencing convicted defendants to serve time in separate prison systems, both systems have facilities of varying levels of security. Maximum security prisons house inmates in one-person cells. The cells have toilets and sinks, but inmates are only allowed to leave their cells for a short period each day. In medium security prisons, there are two inmates per cell, and time outside the cell per day is longer than in maximum security prisons, but still limited. In minimum security prisons, inmates may move around the prison freely in the daytime but must stay in their dormitories at night. The dormitories look like barracks, with rows of bunk beds; the inmates keep their possessions in lockers in the dormitory.
The courts decide which convicted defendants go to which prisons based on risk level and on the crimes of which they have been convicted. Most people who have never been to state prison before and whose convictions are for nonviolent crimes go to minimum security prisons. Minimum security prison is not the worst-case scenario, but it is no one’s idea of a good time. If possible, negotiate a plea deal that does not involve prison time or, if possible, go through a pretrial diversion program. If you believe that there is reasonable doubt about your guilt, you can and should fight your charges.
Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven
A criminal defense lawyer can help you get justice if you are accused of crimes where prison time is a likely consequence. Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.
Source:
securityjournalamericas.com/minimum-security-prison/#:~:text=Inmates%20in%20these%20prisons%20often,convicted%20of%20non%2Dviolent%20crimes.
