Ashley Sawyer

People should not be spending life in prison for a robbery they committed at 20 years old. Harsh sentence makes for overcrowding in prison which leads to understaffing no matter how much money you throw at it . Let's Fix the root of the problem. @csime90 @je

You’re not alone. Building Strength gives you the information, support, and guidance you need to better understand and navigate the Florida prison system. One step at a time, we’re here to help families stay informed and empowered. 💙 #BuildingStrength #SupportFamilies

🤍 Public Safety Starts with Veteran Rehabilitation. 🪖Our commitment to veterans shouldn't end when they leave the battlefield. Read more to get to know veterans in the Justice system: lightafterlife.org/veteran-first-… #LightAfterLife #PublicSafety #VetetanFirstStep

Second Chance Month is over. Now what? Next is what we do, and that is where this conversation gets harder. Light After Life is staying in that conversation. Join the email list where stories and questions don’t end. stats.sender.net/forms/bW69rx/v…

🪖We trained them for war. We didn’t prepare them for coming home. 🎖️The Veteran First Step Act is smart reform treatment-focused, reducing recidivism, & strengthening public safety by addressing service-related trauma. lightafterlife.org/veteran-first-… #VetetanFirstStep #LightAfterLife

A House budget proposal includes $127 million for a new prison facility, contingent on approval of another bill. That seems to follow up on a state audit dating back to 2023 that spotlighted a lack of beds in Florida’s corrections system. That report by KPMG said Florida needed a new 4,800-bed prison, the same size facility identified in the House budget plan. floridapolitics.com/archives/77997…

It’s good to see eyes on @FL_Corrections. But families are hit hard too: $13.95 fee just to send money via JPay, then insane commissary markups inside. Maruchan Chicken soup? $1.41 in prison vs. 45¢ at Walmart (case of 12 for $3.97!). These prices keep rising—enough is enough.

The Deltona Outpost is officially open!! Welcome! Welcome! Please come join us on Sunday mornings. #find" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">coe22.com/visit/online/o…

On May 14, Orlando is coming together to make sure those who served have access to the support they deserve. If you or someone you know could benefit, make time to attend and get connected. #floridaveterans

🤍 Public Safety Starts with Veteran Rehabilitation. 🪖Our commitment to veterans shouldn't end when they leave the battlefield. Read more to get to know veterans in the Justice system: lightafterlife.org/veteran-first-… #LightAfterLife #PublicSafety #VetetanFirstStep

People should not be spending life in prison for a robbery they committed at 20 years old. Harsh sentence makes for overcrowding in prison which leads to understaffing no matter how much money you throw at it . Let's Fix the root of the problem. @DianneHartFL

No lines to draw…just homes to build. @FLSenate @FLSenateDems @FLGOPMajority If the maps are ?, let’s stop redrawing the lines and start rebuilding the housing ladder. Florida doesn’t have a map problem. It has a housing problem. 📍 April 22 | Housing Solutions Summit James Museum, St. Pete Less redistricting. More permitting. Less slogans. More supply. Less theory. More keys in doors. Same issues. Better room. Real data. Actual solutions. No committees. No filibusters. Just answers. Bring a colleague. Leave with a plan. eventbrite.com/e/2026-florida…

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“In September, a federal Judge certified a class action allowing more than 1,500 inmates to collectively challenge prison heat conditions they say increase the risk of illness and death.  @FL_Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon previously testified that roughly 75% of the state’s prison housing units are not air-conditioned.” floridapolitics.com/archives/78520…

WICHITA, Kan. — Sedgwick County commissioners have approved a $10.3 million civil settlement in the 2021 death of 17-year-old Cedric “CJ” Lofton at the county’s juvenile correctional facility. A federal jury found earlier last month that five Sedgwick County juvenile corrections officers were liable in the teen’s in-custody prone restraint death corrections1.com/legal/kan-coun…

“The Senate did not include plans for a new prison that were budgeted by House appropriators. A Senate criminal justice budget proposal includes $52 million for new correctional housing units. But that doesn’t cover the $127 million that a proposed House budget sets aside for a new 4,800-bed prison.” floridapolitics.com/archives/78015…

🚨🤔Thought experiment on Florida’s prison system. Florida incarcerates roughly 87,000 people in state prisons, making it the third-largest system in America. An independent KPMG assessment found the system requires $2.2 billion in immediate capital repairs to bring facilities up to minimum operational standards. Over the next 20 years, projected infrastructure needs approach $11.8 billion. Roughly one-third of facilities were rated poor or critical. Today roughly 75% of prison housing units still lack A/C. Staffing isn’t better. At some @FL_Corrections facilities, correctional officer vacancy rates have ranged from 24% to more than 70%. That means skeleton crews, mandatory overtime, constant officer turnover, dorm closures, skyrocketing violence and routine lockdowns. This isn’t anecdotal. It’s structural. Now here’s the thought experiment: Require every county jail in Florida to operate under the same constraints as the #Florida prison system. Same per-inmate funding pressures. Same double-digit staffing vacancies. Same deferred maintenance. Same aging facilities rated poor or critical. Same heat conditions in summer. Same multibillion-dollar backlog with little legislative support. County jails often spend 2X per inmate per day what the prison system spends and answer directly to local voters. When A/C fails, phones ring. When staffing drops, commissioners demand answers. When conditions deteriorate, it becomes front-page news. Now imagine a sheriff explaining that 75% of jail housing units will operate without full climate control because “that’s how the state does it.” Imagine explaining a 30%-70% deputy vacancy rate as normal. Imagine telling voters the repair backlog will be addressed sometime over the next TWO decades. Make them explain why violence is skyrocketing in their facilities. It’s up 50% in Florida prisons. Would that last a week? If it’s politically intolerable in a county jail for people awaiting trial and serving shorter sentences, why is it acceptable in a state prison for people serving time? Here’s the difference: @FLSheriffs are one of the most powerful lobbying forces in Tallahassee. If their facilities were forced to operate under state-level constraints, there would be emergency press conferences, caucus meetings, and a call for a special session before the day was over. Relief would not be theoretical. It would be immediate. So the real question isn’t whether Florida can afford modernization. The KPMG report makes clear what the bill is. The real question is why urgency only appears when politically powerful actors feel the pressure. We tolerate in state prisons what would be politically explosive in county jails. Not because it’s acceptable. Not because it’s efficient. But because the people inside are politically distant. Real reform starts when incentives align. If you want modernization, remove the distance. Sometimes the fastest way to fix a system is to make everyone live under it. Thoughts?

A lot of noise about raises, but let me remind you how close our prisons are to Alabama. They already pay a good wage and “Secretary Hamm said the ADOC still needs to add about 1,800 officers to meet the court order.” @IleanaGarciaUSA

Seriously we don't do the crime but we definitely do the time .#FDOC #EndLWOP

The "rewiring" mentioned here isn't a metaphor. Long-term isolation and hyper-vigilance physically alter the brain. We are sending people back to our communities with neurological scars, then wondering why they struggle to "re-enter." It’s time for a trauma-informed approach.

My husband has lost 32 lbs, Here is what he is suppose to eat, and what the State of Florida funds. State is not in compliance at @FL_Corrections