[Newspoetry] Inmate Beaten To Death

[Mike Lehman]

Inmate Beaten To Death


                                      By : P. Sutton and Mike Lehman


                7-25-99 Frank Valdez, age 36, was beaten to death at
Florida State
                  Prison in Stark Florida,
while waiting on Death Row for his state-ordered execution to be carried
out.
                  This is the second Florida State Prison
                   prisoner to die from beatings since Jan. 1998 when
David C.
                  Skrtich died.  Both men died as a result of severe
beatings by
                  guards in the prison.
                  The FBI has been called on by Florida
                    to investigate what is being called a "sub-culture"
amongst
                                      the prison guards,
which is part of a larger culture of state-sponsored death and violence
against the under classes.

                 The FBI will begin its investigation with the Florida
State Prison,
                  but can expand its investigation to any of the 50
state prisons if
                necessary.  Florida Department of Law Enforcement
director Tim
                Moore called for the FBI investigation after the two
beating deaths
                   and the possibility of a "subculture" of civil rights
violations
                 and physical abuse complaints.
"Things like this give the Death Penalty a bad name. Besides, I kind of
enjoy flipping the switch and I’ll have to settle for a violent video
game in this particular case.  (Flipping the switch) is one of those
little perks I’ve come to enjoy as Law Enforcement Director."
                  Moore says the entire prison
                          system is fair game for further investigation.

The FBI will not, however, be called on to investigate why we kill
people to prove that killing is wrong.

                    The FBI will try to break through the protective
culture in the
                   prison system, in which officers are unwilling to
report other
                    officers violations.
Since they are part of that culture themselves they are uniquely
qualified to investigate such violations and can be trusted to "fix
things up" if it should be discovered that official tolerance reaches to
higher authorities. Prison guards are just one member of a larger group
of violence-prone law enforcement agents, police and the military who
are called upon to use violence on a daily basis to fulfill the state’s
interest in law and order.
                 There are numerous complaints of civil
                   rights abuses, excessive use of force, poor living
conditions,
                   and deprivation of basic needs in the Florida Prison
System.
Generally, this group is much like others of their genre, with a carte
blanche to use whatever means necessary to enforce the present social
order, as long as they do nothing to really embarrass their political
bosses.
                 People are afraid to tell what they have seen or what
they know
                           about the goings on in the Florida system.

                Valdez was in Florida State Prisons death row for the
1987 murder
                   of a West Palm Beach Florida correctional officer.
Apparently, he wasn’t dying fast enough for the guards charged with his
care.
                  Cause of
                  death was "multiple blunt trauma from a severe
beating".
Interestingly, this is the same cause of death alleged when
anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko died in South African secret police
custody.
                    The
                    attorney for the correctional officers states that
Valdez "in-
                   tentionally injured" himself after being returned to
his solitary
                  cell at the prison and after a fight with the guards.
"The guy was probably suicidal after so many years on Death Row," their
attorney said.
                 The medical
                 examiner does not believe the guard’s story that his
injuries were
                 self inflicted.
"The blunt object appears to have consisted of a boot," he stated.
                 The correction officers homes were searched and
                    clothing/boots that they were wearing at the time of
Valdez
                                   beating were confiscated.

                Authorities have not released the results of the autopsy
completed
                 last Sunday on Valdez' body, because they claim that it
contains
                 critical information regarding the investigation and
evidence that
                                only the "killer or killers" know.

                  Valdez had a long history of discipline problems.
His early death clearly embarrassed prison officials, who stated that
"it is inhumane to beat a man to death when we would of eventually have
strapped him into the electric chair and shocked him until the flames
come shooting out of his ears.  The Supreme Court has endorsed our
methods as dignified and civil."
                 But Florida's
                  prison system has had a long list of problems also,
dating back
                   for the past thirty years.  Florida Department of
Corrections
                 has been in court before for complaints that have been
upheld by
                  the court system by the prisoners.
Apparently, sending prison guards to their own prison was considered
"cruel and unusual" punishment previously.  They were simply put on work
release and sent back to their old jobs in past cases.
                  Past complaints have varied
                    from civil rights violations to physical abuse.  If
there is a
                  "subculture" within the Department of Corrections it
has been
                   there for a very long time, and is deeply embedded
within the
                          brotherhood of Florida Corrections Officers.

                   So far 11 corrections officers have been suspended
with pay
                   while the investigation continues.
Their attorney advised them to "go fishing until this thing blows over."

                   Many people in the Stark
                    area are afraid to talk about things that they
know...it is a
                 deep dark secret and the protection comes from "fear"
of speak-
                     ing up..."fear" of being found out..."fear" of
retribution.
None of the guards seems to fear ending up on Death Row themselves.