After a string of brutal inmate deaths--like that of Darren Rainey, who was locked into a scalding shower until he died--Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) Secretary Michael Crews' resigned last month, which was long overdue. Yet Governor Rick Scott has appointed his top assistant, Timothy Cannon, as interim Secretary.  Over his 25 years in the DOC, he has been part of a culture that has accepted brutality instead of fighting it.

Florida needs a new Secretary who is not beholden to a system he or she will be tasked with changing. The Governor must appoint a new leader who is ready and willing to end the brutality in Florida's prisons.

Stop Prison Abuse Now (SPAN) also has a petition asking for a federal investigation of the Darren Rainey case, at 

https://www.change.org/p/attorney-general-eric-holder-investigate-the-2012-death-of-mr-darren-rainey-a-mentally-ill-florida-prisoner-who-died-after-prison-guards-locked-him-into-a-180-degree-shower