Prisons, Profits, and Hard Labor: A Brief History of Convict Labor In Florida

The purpose of this research is to develop a broader understanding of the system in Florida. Specifically, I am looking at the privatization of convict labor programs by the Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises Corporation (PRIDE) in the 1980s and 1990s in state correctional institutions. This research will contribute to historiography of prisons in Florida in the context of the developing research about the Prison-Industrial Complex. Many scholars studying the Prison-Industrial Complex have drawn comparisons to today’s prison industries and the convict lease system of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, seeing the prison system go full circle drawing attention to the exploitative and institutionally racist nature of the modern prison system. This researched showed that the trend other scholars have studied also exist in Florida and Florida was actually a pioneer in the Prison-Industrial Complex. It was the first state to privatize its convict labor programs, becoming a model for other states. This research also shows that political and economic motivations were the primary forces governing prison policies, rather than education, rehabilitation, and safety. To complete this project, I analyzed articles from South Florida newspapers, such as the Sun-Sentinel and the Miami Herald, published during this period as well as literature published by the Department of Corrections. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world and spends more money on prisons than education. Being such a large part of country, prisons warrant more critical study. This research will shed light on the nature of prisons, specifically here in Florida, in the hopes of seeking alternatives.

Prisons, Profits, and Hard Labor: A Brief History of Convict Labor In Florida

The purpose of this research is to develop a broader understanding of the system in Florida. Specifically, I am looking at the privatization of convict labor programs by the Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises Corporation (PRIDE) in the 1980s and 1990s in state correctional institutions. This research will contribute to historiography of prisons in Florida in the context of the developing research about the Prison-Industrial Complex. Many scholars studying the Prison-Industrial Complex have drawn comparisons to today’s prison industries and the convict lease system of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, seeing the prison system go full circle drawing attention to the exploitative and institutionally racist nature of the modern prison system. This researched showed that the trend other scholars have studied also exist in Florida and Florida was actually a pioneer in the Prison-Industrial Complex. It was the first state to privatize its convict labor programs, becoming a model for other states. This research also shows that political and economic motivations were the primary forces governing prison policies, rather than education, rehabilitation, and safety. To complete this project, I analyzed articles from South Florida newspapers, such as the Sun-Sentinel and the Miami Herald, published during this period as well as literature published by the Department of Corrections. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world and spends more money on prisons than education. Being such a large part of country, prisons warrant more critical study. This research will shed light on the nature of prisons, specifically here in Florida, in the hopes of seeking alternatives.

FOIA, Inc.

Government transparency is imagined as a public good necessary to a robust democracy. Consistent with that vision, Congress enacted the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to allow oversight and accountability of governmental activities. No actors are more central to the design than journalists, who were not only the prime intended users, but who were intimately involved in crafting the law itself. But this democracy-enhancing ideal is at odds with FOIA’s reality: at some agencies, commercial — not public — interests dominate the landscape of FOIA requesters. This Article provides the first in-depth academic study of the commercial use of FOIA, drawing on original datasets from six federal agencies. It uses these agencies as case studies to examine the way that businesses derive profit-making value from free or low-cost federal records. Remarkably, these datasets also reveal a cottage industry of companies whose entire business model is to request federal records under FOIA and resell them at a profit. Information resellers are not isolated occurrences, but rather are some of the most frequent FOIA requesters — often submitting hundreds or even thousands of requests a year — at a variety of federal agencies. Commercial users certainly have legitimate information needs, but, as this Article demonstrates, the volume and character of the current commercial use of FOIA undermines its efficacy as a transparency tool. Private businesses in essence receive a substantial subsidy without any corresponding public good, all while draining agency resources that might otherwise be used to respond to FOIA requests that serve its central oversight and accountability aims. Moreover, information resellers have become the de facto locus for federal records for whole industries, effectively privatizing an important public function. Counter-intuitively, limiting commercial requesting will not solve this problem. Instead, this Article proposes a targeted and aggressive policy of requiring government agencies to affirmatively disclose sets of records that are routinely the subject of FOIA requests — a surprisingly large number of the documents sought by commercial requesters. By meeting information needs in a more efficient manner that is available equally to all, affirmative disclosure will enable federal agencies to reclaim public records from the private market and free up resources to better serve FOIA requests that advance its democratic purpose.

Test and evaluation of the AMF, Inc. and Fairchild Industries experimental safety vehicles. Volume II. ESV program summary. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Test and evaluation of the AMF, Inc. and Fairchild Industries experimental safety vehicles. Volume III. ESV program summary. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Test and evaluation of the AMF, Inc. and Fairchild Industries experimental safety vehicles. Volume IV. ESV program summary. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Test and evaluation of the AMF, Inc. and Fairchild Industries experimental safety vehicles. Volume 1. ESV program summary. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Report of the Federal Trade Commission on rates of return for identical companies in selected manufacturing industries, 1940, 1947-61.

Cover title.

The pictorial book of anecdotes and incidents of the war of the rebellion, civil, military, naval and domestic ... from the time of the memorable toast of Andrew Jackson--"The federal union; it must be preserved!" ... to the assassination of President Lincoln, and the end of the war. With famous words and deeds of woman, sanitary and hospital scenes, prison experiences, &c.

Afterwards issued under title: Reminiscences of the blue and gray '61-'65.

Federal financial support for high-technology industries.

Item 1005-C

An account of the escape of six federal soldiers from prison at Danville, Va.: their travels by night through the enemy's country to the Union pickets at Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, in the winter of 1863-64.

The other escaping prisoners were L. B. Smith, 4th Mich. cav.; W. Siutherland, 16th U. S. inf.; W. C. Trippe, 16th U. S. inf.; J. F. Wood, 26th Ohio inf.; R. G. Taylor, 2d Mass. cav.

An account of the escape of six federal soldiers from prison at Danville, Va.:

Mode of access: Internet.