Florida Judge's Brother Receives Medical Furlough, Recuperates at Home
Florida Judge's Brother Receives Medical Furlough, Recuperates at Home
The Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) has sent one of its prison doctors to review if a prisoner should return to prison to heal from heart surgery. The prisoners connections have some wondering if Kenneth Ackerman is receiving preferential treatment.
Ackerman is in the ninth year of a 15-year sentence for DUI manslaughter for running over 24-year-old Chad Cowen. The connection for Ackerman is his brother, David Ackerman, an Escambia County Judge. FDOC released Kenneth from Union Correctional Institution on March 9, 2006, he proceeded to a Texas hospital for surgery, where he remained for six weeks.
Ken now is recuperating at his brothers residence on house arrest. Since his family paid for the medical care, Cowens mother, Mary Cowen, does not mind that Ken received top-grade medical care. She does, however, question his current status.
I cant see how he would get better treatment in a home outside of a medical facility than he would in a fully accredited prison hospital with nurses on every floor, said Mary Cowen.
Kens surgery replaced his descending aorta, had his spleen removed, his lung was deflated, and arteries feeding other essential organs had to be reattached. The danger of infection to Ken Ackerman is a most serious, life-threatening problem, Judge Ackerman wrote in a statement. Hospitals and prisons are the two institutions in our society where the greatest danger of infection lies.
While Ken recuperates from medical care denied indigent or less connected prisoners, he continues to receive time off his sentence. The FDOCs doctor assessment will determine when Ken returns to prison.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login