By Katie Fretland
The Orlando Sentinel
OCALA, Fla. — The women exchanged rings strung with hair and dental floss instead of jewels. In place of flowers, their room was decorated with paper towels and bows made from inmate request forms.
Corrections officers looked on during the mock wedding ceremony inside Lowell Correctional Institution. After investigating the incident, prison officials fired one officer and suspended six others. Another officer resigned, according to documents released Thursday by the state Department of Corrections.
As for the couple, prison officials divided them by sending one to another prison.
“This was most inappropriate, and it is certainly not an everyday occurrence,” Warden Brian Riedl said in a statement. “As soon as we found out this had taken place, we put the matter under investigation and disciplined all employees involved.”
The ceremony at Lowell, which houses more than 1,120 women, occurred March 17, the Department of Corrections said. Prisoners sang as the bride walked out of her cell wearing a bedsheet clipped to her hair and holding a bouquet of flowers. She walked down a set of stairs, escorted by another inmate, to where a wedding cake sat on a table surrounded by cards and endearments.
The ceremony lasted 30 minutes and was conducted by an inmate. The vows did not end with a kiss because kissing was prohibited by the guards. When it was over, the inmates sang, clapped and ate, according to an investigation report.
Prison officials said the ceremony was unauthorized and that the officers failed to maintain security in a restricted area. The ceremony also implied that inmates were having sexual relations, which are prohibited, the prison said in a statement.
Chaplain Alex Taylor said inmates are allowed to marry members of the opposite sex, but same-sex unions are illegal in Florida.
Officers Kimberly Brown, Shayla Davis, Tina Davis, Jannene Henry and Darian Rhem were suspended for five days. Corrections Officer Laurie Vaughn was suspended for 10 days. Sgt. Yelonda Vereen was fired. Sgt. Jennifer Thomas resigned, the DOC said.
Prison officials did not identify the two prisoners but said that since the ceremony, one was sent to Broward Correctional Institution.
Brian Winfield, spokesman for Equality Florida, a gay-rights group, said all same-sex couples, including prison inmates, should be allowed to marry.
“It is ridiculous the extent to which the [corrections] officers were fired, suspended or forced to resign for simply allowing two people to recognize the love they share for each other,” Winfield said.
“Obviously, many of the people there knew this couple and supported the love they shared. Nobody was hurt, and everybody returned to their cells safely, according to the state’s own report. This extreme reaction has no other basis than prejudice.”
John Stemberger, an Orlando attorney and director of the Florida Family Policy Council, said he opposed the ceremony.
“I think what happened was inappropriate on a number of levels,” Stemberger said. “A prison is a place to be punished for crime. It is not a place to engage in fake marriage ceremonies. ... Further, it is not a marriage. It’s a fake civil ceremony. It’s certainly not a marriage under Florida law.”
Copyright 2007 Orlando Sentinel