Prison workers administer stun-gun shocks to children

McClatchy Newspapers

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Children held hands so 50,000 volts could pass through their fingers. Other children were dangerously close to breathing tear gas.

A total of 43 children were directly and indirectly shocked by electric stun guns during simultaneous “Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day” events gone wrong at three Florida state prisons last month. One was a warden’s daughter.

The growing numbers, and the bizarre descriptions of kids being exposed to tear gas and shocked while holding hands in circles, were revealed during a Friday press conference by the surprised chief of the Florida Department of Corrections.

Three prison guards have been fired, two have resigned and 16 others — from corrections officers to a warden — will be disciplined for what happened April 23, McNeil said.

None of the children required medical attention or was notably harmed, McNeil said. He said the victims, who ranged in age from 5 to 17, were all children of prison officials.

In nearly every case, the guards who administered the “Electronic Immobilization Devices” had permission from parents or grandparents. The daughter of the Indian River Correctional Institution’s warden was shocked without his permission.

“I can’t imagine what these officers were thinking to administer this device to children, nor can I imagine why any parent would allow them to do so,” McNeil said.