These decisions are made by judges and juries, in accordance with state laws and sentencing guidelines. The department is solely responsible for the care and custody of offenders under its jurisdiction. Inmates still aren't serving most of their sentences. Prisons are air-conditioned. In addition, Union CI was built in 1913 and has since been renovated with air-conditioning in some areas, such as its hospital.
Facilities built under the privatization contract are air-conditioned.
Inmates who get life sentences don't really stay in prison for life. Today anyone sentenced to life in prison will serve a life term. In March 1997, the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research conducted a telephone survey of 1,002 Floridians at the request of the Department of Corrections. The purpose of the survey was to gather baseline data on the general public's knowledge and image of the DC, as required in the DC's Agency Strategic Plan. In June 1997, an identical survey of 366 news media representatives was conducted.