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Articles by David Reutter

History as Substance Abuser Influences Nation’s Drug Czar

America’s drug czar is an alcoholic who is approaching his job differently than his predecessors. In leading the White House Office of National Drug Control, Michael Botticelli is following the Obama administration’s policy of shifting away from the “war on drugs.”

Botticelli said the approach is a “very clear pivot ...

Florida Sheriff Faces Contempt Proceedings for Furlough Program

The State Attorney for Florida’s Gadsden County has petitioned a state court to hold the sheriff in contempt for allowing prisoners an eight hour furlough without court approval.

 “The inmates involved were supposed to have been held on bond or no bond pursuant to court order,” states the petition filed ...

Florida Community Posts Sexual Predator Warning Signs Outside Homes

One Florida community has initiated the newest indignity against sex offenders: the placement of signs outside homes warning an occupant is a sexual predator. The move is one another community is hoping to make law.

In April 2013, the Bradford County Sheriff’s office went to the homes of 18 registered ...

Cell Workout, by L.J. Flanders (LC Books, 2015)

231 pages, $35.00 softcover

Book review by David M. Reutter

“In prison, people can discover new things and improve themselves in many ways; faith, fitness, a new language, education, skills and qualifications that may lead to job opportunities,” writes author L.J. Flanders. “In my case, I decided to make use ...

Multiple Suicides at Florida Jail a Cause for Concern

Suicide is the leading cause of death among jail detainees according to an August 2015 report by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. While 80% of jails in the U.S. reported no deaths in 2013, six percent reported two or more. Florida’s Alachua County Jail (ACJ) fell into the latter ...

Florida Drug Court Judge’s Relapse Results in Removal from Bench

In an ironic twist, a Florida drug court judge was removed from the bench after enrolling in a substance abuse treatment program herself.

In December 2013, Broward County Judge Gisele Pollack, 57, took a two-week leave to participate in a substance abuse program after admitting to consuming alcohol before work. ...

Former Pennsylvania Prison Guard and Prisoner Charged with Child Sex Trafficking

An unlikely alliance between a prison guard and a former prisoner ended in both being charged with enslaving two teenagers and forcing them into prostitution.

While serving time for a parole violation and drug offense from February 2007 to September 2008, Pennsylvania prisoner Rasul Abernathy, 32, met guard Postauntaramin Walker, ...

Exonerees Fulfill Dreams, Help Other Prisoners Overcome Wrongful Convictions

by David Reutter and Joe Watson

Former Louisiana death row prisoner John Thompson has spearheaded an organization that aims to help the wrongfully convicted and former prisoners successfully rebuild their lives.

Thompson was sentenced to death for the 1984 fatal shooting of a hotel executive from a prominent New Orleans ...

Florida Prison’s “Widespread Retaliation” Against Writ Writers Claim Proceeds Forward

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment in a prisoner’s civil rights action alleging the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) has a widespread practice and custom of transferring prisoners in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights.

Glenn Smith, who the Eleventh Circuit described as ...

Death Penalty Opponent Delbert Tibbs Dies at 74

Delbert Tibbs, a peaceful advocate to abolish the death penalty, has lost his battle against cancer and died at the age of 74. His advocacy was borne of personal experience of being wrongfully convicted.

Tibbs was born on June 19, 1939, in Shelby, Mississippi. At the age of 12, he ...