Hurricane Dorian: Inmates scheduled for release cannot leave a day early because of storm

Credit: Ichigo121212

Credit: Ichigo121212

Even with a major hurricane barreling toward the state, early release is not an option for Florida inmates preparing to end their prison terms.

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As Hurricane Dorian moves toward Florida, the Florida Department of Corrections began giving inmates extra food and water, prison spokeswoman Michelle Glady told the Miami Herald.

What about an inmate scheduled to be released, for example, this weekend, when the storm could be hovering close to the coast and roads could be snarled with traffic?

One woman, who told the Herald her fiance was scheduled to be released from a Central Florida prison Sunday. She told the newspaper she asked prison officials if she could pick the man up Saturday.

No dice.

However, the woman said prison officials said if she was unable to reach the prison, her fiance would still have accommodations until the storm passed.

As for prisoners still serving their sentences, Glady, citing security reasons, told the Herald she could not comment about whether any of the facilities in Dorian's path would be evacuated.

Some of the prisons were boarded up in anticipation of the storm.

Chris Lane, the warden at Tomoka Correctional Institute near Daytona Beach, said the boards were designed with air gaps and that the flow of oxygen is normal into the building, the Herald reported.

During Hurricane Michael last year, at least two prisons in the Panhandle were closed after damage to the roof and security systems, the Herald reported. Nearly 3,000 inmates were evacuated, the newspaper reported.

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