Miami Herald — Lightning Blasted his Shoes off – and Illuminated a Pattern of Abuse by Staff

BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER AND AUDRA D.S. BURCH
OCTOBER 10, 2017

Miami Herald

… An examination of 10 years of Department of Juvenile Justice records reveals a trail of incident reports, almost like bread crumbs, leading to the conclusion that staffers at some institutions foster a culture of brutality-by-proxy. What is not in the records is any sort of acknowledgment that the problem might be systemic — nor any directive saying it must stop.

… Jeffrey Butts is director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and he’s worked with policymakers in 28 states, largely on youth justice. “It takes a high level of neglect for a long time for this stuff to emerge,” he said “It’s like black mold: It will grow if nobody is cleaning it up.”

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