Charges Filed against Miami-Dade Juvenile Detention Guard in Inmate Death

• Honey Bun Beating death finally leads to charges
• Miami Herald exposed what was essentially a guard-led fight club
• We covered the story after the Herald’s shocking article: “Murdered Children and ‘Honey Bun Hits’: A brutal look at Juvenile Corrections in Florida“

Victim Elord Revolte

Federal prosecutors in Miami-Dade have obtained a federal civil-rights violation indictment against former juvenile detention guard Antwan Johnson. After a three-year investigation, authorities found that Johnson used honey buns and other rewards to encourage other juvenile detainees to attack one of the minors being housed there, Elord Revolte, who died from the beating. Johnson faces several federal criminal charges that could result in a sentence of up to life in prison. The Feds apparently picked up the case after the State failed to pursue charges.

Somehow, the Johnson was still working as a guard at the detention facility, as authorities arrested him as he was arriving for work. More troubling, the information in the indictment indicates what the Herald reported months ago: that the bounty system used by Johnson was commonly utilized by other guards as well. Johnson is now charged with violating the civil rights of the young man, resulting in his death. He’s charged with orchestrating the attack on one of the children he was paid to protect. It remains to be seen if there will be action on spate of adult prison deaths that the Herald has similarly covered.

I was quoted in the Miami Herald Exposé on the Prison Death Crisis in Florida

• More inmates died in Florida prisons last year than any year in history.
• The death rate spiked 20 percent.
• Charlotte Correctional Institute has had a spate of questionable inmate deaths, most recently Brodrick Campbell.

Yesterday, reporter Sarah Blaskey at the Miami Herald published an in-depth exposé  on the recent spike in prison deaths among inmates of Florida’s Department of Corrections (DOC). More inmates died last year while incarcerated in Florida’s prison than any year on record. The increase in deaths is particularly shocking, in that Florida’s crime and incarceration rates have been on the decline for several years. Charlotte Correctional Institute (CCI), just south of Punta Gorda, has been one of the leading facilities for inmate deaths.

There are not answers for the increased death rate, and many of the deaths are still under investigation- or the results have not been published. One possible explanation proposed by DOC that many of the deaths are caused by drug overdoses in prison. Drugs and contraband in prison have always been a problem, and addiction and overdoses have been on the rise outside of prison, as well. Unfortunately, there are few rehabilitation programs in jail, and drug addiction frequently goes untreated, though drugs are quite often a factor in the underlying crime that lead to incarceration.

Brodrick Campbell

One of the cases discussed was the death of Brodrick Campbell, an inmate we’ve discussed here. This young man was found dead under curious circumstances at Charlotte Correctional last year. The case is still under investigation, and the official word is that he committed suicide, which immediately struck me as odd for such a young man. A review of his case discovered that he was only sentenced to prison for three years, was a minimum security inmate, and had less than two years remaining. His family has since described a family man, who had young children who would often visit him. The explanation of suicide doesn’t make sense, and his relatives certainly don’t believe it. Based on previous history, there is a real fear that this or other deaths have come at the hands of guards.

Answers for this crisis are difficult, as it is for the problems at Juvenile Justice. DOC guards are underpaid, and for that reason retention is low. That means DOC trains them, but the good ones don’t stay, and often leave for other job: often better paying jobs in county jails, and DOC has to start all over with new hires. Accountability needs to increase as well: investigations need to lead to consequences, unlike the infamous Matthew Walker situation at CCI. It’s troubling to hear that video surveillance ends up missing, and investigations drag on for years without satisfactory explanation. Kudos to Ms. Blaskey, the Miami Herald,, and the Charlotte Sun, who has also had award-winning coverage of the issue.

Here’s our earlier coverage of the ongoing mysterious deaths at CCI.

Murdered Children and ‘Honey Bun Hits’: A brutal look at Juvenile Corrections in Florida

This week the Miami Herald dropped a bombshell on Florida’s juvenile justice system and the Department of Juvenile Justice. They spent two years researching the last 10 years of juvenile justice history to prepare a report they call “Fight Club.” It’s a devastating read.

The Herald found multiple instances of violence against juveniles. Some from the guards, and others from inmates, sometimes at the behest of guards who would reward them with Honey Buns or other items from the commissary. The article points to low pay, inadequate personnel screening and standards, and tolerance for cover-ups. Indeed, Time and again the Herald found that guards involved in the violence, including juvenile death, were not criminally charged (much like the adult guards in the CCI homicide a couple years back.)

One of the facilities highlighted was here in SW Florida, at the Fort Myers Youth Academy. The Herald says the Youth Academy is a microcosm, “steeped in violence and a culture of coercive cover-ups.” It details guards that were hired, even though they’d been fired from previous prison guard jobs for sexual harassment and bribery to hide abuse. It sounds like the troublemakers cited in the report no longer work there, but the account is troubling.

DJJ filed a lengthy response. Unfortunately, the lives lost by years of abuse cannot be brought back, but hopefully a true culture change can prevent such abuses in the future.