The former police detective speaks at the State House in an event sponsored by an advocacy group collecting allegations of abuse at the prison.

01:00 AM EDT on Friday, June 11, 2004

BY CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Six years of imprisonment at the Adult Correctional Institutions proved to Jeffrey Scott Hornoff that the prison creates monsters, not reformed criminals.

"The constant degradation, humiliation and attack on the human spirit is suffered by all," Hornoff said. "Mental and physical cruelties by guards or other inmates, even the possibility, tears away at one's humanity."

Hornoff, a former police detective, was convicted of murder in 1996 and served more than six years before the real killer came forward and exonerated him.

Hornoff spoke on the steps of the State House yesterday at a news conference. He urged lawmakers to offer better rehabilitation programs at the prison and to create an oversight commission to investigate prisoner abuse.

The event was organized by Direct Action for Rights & Equality, a nonprofit group that has been collecting allegations of abuse at the ACI since 2000.

Last year, the House created a special commission to study the possibility of an independent commission that would oversee the prison. Responding to a request from the commission, 180 inmates wrote letters detailing alleged abuse. They complained about poor medical care, verbal and physical abuse, abuse of power by the correctional officers and an unfair grievance process.

"For 6 1/2 years, I existed behind those walls," Hornoff said. "I saw the treatment and mistreatment firsthand, nowhere worse than the segregation units, and I can tell you that I do not want those men as my neighbors again. An inmate once told me, 'Scott, they're creating monsters in here, and they're going to reap what they sow.' "

Joy Fox, a spokeswoman from the Department of Corrections, acknowledged that in an environment like a prison, abuse can happen. But she said guards receive extensive training on handling prisoners, and the inmates have numerous avenues to report abuse.

Inmates can file grievances with the prison's grievance office or inspector's office. They can also make free phone calls to the state police, who have an office on the campus, and to the prison's Special Investigation Unit.

"Everyone gets an answer and it is investigated to the fullest extent that the investigators see fit," Fox said.

DARE criticized prison officials for blocking the House commission from interviewing inmates directly.

Fox, however, said the prison has cooperated with the commission. Members have toured the facility and spoken with the management, she said.

The chairman of the commission, Rep. Joseph S. Almeida, D-Providence, has not made a formal request to meet with inmates, Fox said.

"Members of DARE sit on the commission and those members have made requests, and yes, they have been denied," she said.

Fox said interviews will be allowed if requested by the chairman and if the interview involves any of the 180 inmates who wrote letters to the commission.