Florida fired 32 prison guards Friday as part of an investigation into the deaths of inmates at four state prisons, says the Associated Press. The Miami Herald reported that all of the fired guards were accused of criminal wrongdoing or misconduct in connection with the inmate deaths, which date from 2010 through April. Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Michael Crews said his agency has a zero-tolerance policy for abuse or corruption and that the firings were part of that policy. “We continue to root out any and all bad actors who do not live up to our expectations,” he said.
The Teamsters Union, which represents the guards, said the guards were fired without due process. The union said the guards were following protocols established by their bosses, who have not been held accountable. “The procedure they were following … was well known and condoned by the warden,” Teamsters spokesman Bill Curtis said. “Essentially they promoted the people most responsible and liable for the incident and fired everybody else down the chain.”