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Century Prison Inmate Murdered By Another Inmate
August 24, 2020
The death of a Century Correctional Institution inmate is being investigated as murder.
On August 17, inmate Nelson J. Sanderson was pronounced deceased on August 17 as the result of an apparent inmate on inmate assault at CCI, the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) said.
The FDC confirmed Friday afternoon to NorthEscambia.com that an active homicide investigation is underway by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FDC Office of Inspector General.
“The safe and secure operation of Florida’s correctional institutions is the Department of Corrections’ top priority. Every inmate death is thoroughly investigated by law enforcement and the Department’s Office of Inspector General to ensure independent oversight and absolute accountability at all levels,” FDC said in an email.
“The Florida Department of Corrections is committed to providing for the safety and wellbeing of all inmates in custody. Inmates who cause harm to others are held accountable for their actions. This includes administrative sanctions, placement in restrictive housing and criminal charges if applicable. This is done for the safety of staff and other inmates,” FDC concluded.
In 2016, Sanderson was serving two life sentences out of Lee County for the lewd and lascivious molestation of a child less than 12-years old.
Comments
44 Responses to “Century Prison Inmate Murdered By Another Inmate”
All I can say about this place is just pray you don’t end up there
Bed space available
I worked in corrections for many years and I can tell you one undeniable 100% true fact. If every single officer did their job perfect 100% every single day the inmates would still find a way to do their dirt. They will always outnumber staff and have nothing but time to figure out how to do things.
The man was convicted, i.e. found gulity.
Justice has now been served
For those of you who have expressed delight as his being killed — Remember, folks, some prisoners are innocent. (Whether this man was innocent or not, I don’t know.)
We work hard. We are understaffed. That is not the endemic underlying issue though. We are like a finger bandaid on top of a gushing moral arterial bleed. Care custody and control is our objective. Corrections is not supposed to be punitive. However, it is exactly that. Some inmates do their time go on and live life. Most continue to build their felony resume. As Cos we are hampered by the limited options to actually correct behavior patterns. Primarily because any attempt we make as line staff is overridden by higher ups who’d rather look good on paper and ignore the countless Capter 33 violations committed by inmates daily. At some point as a CO no matter how dedicated you are you find yourself banging your head between non compliant inmates and non supportive legislature. Personally I think violent felons ( those who egregiously harmed) should not be in the same facilities as lower level offenders. It would help prevent a lot of problems. As far as contraband goes it comes in via mail. Via staff. Via official visitors via fence toss via food delivered via anal cavities. We aren’t equip to perform our job at a perfunctory level most times. Yet those of us who care continue to try.
Colonel Schwarz, Thank you sir. You were a good Colonel and all this mess wouldn’t be going on if you were still here.
Mr. Sanderson can’t harm anymore children!
Recidivism… its an ugly word, isn’t it Hi?
Tom, systematic, oh boy, here we go again
What cause things like this in the prison system is co turning there backs.as long as it dont involve them.it dont matter.they turn s blind eye.they are not under payed in there or over worked that’s a poor excuse.
Tom, As the former Correctional Officer Chief at Century C. I., I can tell you that the staff are highly professional, overworked, exhausted, dedicated and do an outstanding job. There are policies in place and staff adhere to those policies. The problem is the prisons are grossly understaffed. They are understaffed at a dangerous level. This is a result of a lack of applicants. The County pays more money than the state, therefore the state loses a lot of staff to the county and the Feds. Century is a Maximum security faculty that houses inmates of the criteria this inmate was. All of you that wish to blame the prison and it’s staff please tell me what your solution is. I was the chief there for three years and personally know the warden who is a fine upstanding man. I know many of the staff personally and would put them up against any. Rather than point fingers, do some real research and come up with a real solution. Than voice an opinion.
Im sure some poor kid that was molested by this monster is feeling alot better…. why do i feel some Justice was served, may not be to some people’s standards but there is a golden rule most people live by and thats never hurt children. If you do then no one says sad things here……
He was a convicted child molester…should have been put to death by the “so called” justice system of America a very long time ago. Back to hell, where he belongs!
I want to know the prisoners name who killed the sick old pedo,so I can congratulate him on a job well done and put money on his books indefinitely.
@Mr. Nobody – It actually cost more to have people on death row then life in prison without parole because prisoners on death row are provided lawyers by the State to file all the appeals the State and US Supreme Courts have determined must be filed and the State pays the bill. Those folks in for life have to hire their own lawyers.’
I read in an article somewhere once it cost on average over $2M/death row inmate from incarceration to execution. It cost less than 1/2 that if the same inmate was in for life and died of old age, which is what most people on death row die of.
So here’s some food for thought….. the people in charge are pressured by inmate families to do more for the inmate. More and more and more. They have a plan to make the prison system more of a college like atmosphere. That is a fact. Making prison a more enjoyable place to spend your time. That is a big part of why there are not enough staff to properly run the place. And if all life sentence inmates were put to death once the appeals process was over then the state would save billions every year. Why pay so much to house a dangerous criminal who no one wants in public?
@Accountability; I am sure the DOC would love to be able to provide a private room, and private guards for every prisoner “entrusted to their care”, but the fact is, the tax payers of Fl. cannot afford such a level of custody Not only is DOC understaffed, but now they are trying to deal with the effects of Covid. They also have to deal with a constant barrage of contraband such as weapons, cell phones and drugs being smuggled into their facilities. The point is; they don’t have the resources to protect every prisoner every second of the day.
This is the mission statement of the Florida Department of Corrections:
“The mission of the Florida Department of Corrections is to provide a continuum of services to meet the needs of those entrusted to our care, creating a safe and professional environment with the outcome of reduced victimization, safer communities and an emphasis on the premium of life. To that end, FDC provides dozens of academic, vocational and substance abuse programs to inmates and offenders, including in such areas as GED, adult basic education and mandatory literacy; printing and graphics, carpentry and digital design; and Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.”
The judicial system sentenced this man to two life sentences. That’s his punishment. Period. From the judicial system, he was placed in the custody of the FDOC. Entrusted to their care. The sentence is based on legislative passage, executive approval, and judicial sentencing. Another inmate has instead committed another crime while this man, even as the perpetrator of a heinous crime, has been murdered while incarcerated. That is far outside of the FDOC’s mission.
The fact is that the sentence itself IS the justice. Local commenters, filled with shocking, excessive, and vengeful animosity toward anyone they deem as inadequately punished under their own “moral values” are not recognizing the need to operate within the laws established by the people though the Florida Legislature, Governor’s office, and the judicial system.
And the FDOC and CCI is woefully failing in its mission when its own employees do not protect those entrusted to the system, as well as allow inmates to take another prisoner’s life.
FDOC’s and CCI’s internal works may need an independent and objective commission to look into this facility.
Sounds like karma came to get ya…
There’s a reason people should be scared to go to prison. If prison had a great reputation for being fun and safe then everyone would be trying to get in. I felt a little bad for the deceased until I read he was a child pedo. I hope the child or children can rest a little easier tonight knowing they’ll never have to see his face again. If this happened more often then maybe there would be less rapists in this world.
@ Tom
This man deserved what he got. He was tried and convicted of sexually assaulting a child younger than 12 years old. He was placed in an environment much like the one he created for his victims. As for the number of non violent inmates they are the very few, and many are repeat offender. Based on, flsheriffs.org, “Repeat offenders account for 95% of the total population of Florida’s prisons.” Page 14 of report below.
https://www.flsheriffs.org/uploads/docs/2019-11-12_FSA_Truth_in_Sentencing_Report_DIGITAL_(5).pdf
I am only surprised It took them 4 years.
Yes it’s a shame the ole fellow was in jail in Century, FL when he should have been waiting for the needle. What I want to know? Is Century a maximum security prison? What is someone, an inmate, serving two life sentences for molestation of a child under 12 years old doing in a local state correctional institute? He should have been in Rayford on death row. How many more capital felons are in Century that the public doesn’t know about? There’s one prison in the U.S. that the public never hears the first word about and when you go there they don’t play games with the guards or show their behinds, they do as they are told or they are dealt right then. Normally their sentences have a phrase attached to it, like “hard labor” and that’s what they get. The name of the prison no one wants to go to? Fort Leavenworth, KA
I hope he felt the pain for a while..
@ Tom
Take a good look at what’s going on in our country today people have no morals at all and they don’t care.
A pedo gets some jail house justice…no hard feelings.
Justice was served!! @torn I cant believe u said that! had he not been a pedophile im sure this wouldnt have happened! Be grateful..he had 2 life sentances. Sounds to me like what he did was really bad! I have childern, I’m grateful for this, it needs to happen more. why should tax money have to feed him till he lives his life out!
Dude was a sexual predator…no bad feelings lost on this one. Sorry Tom, you can feel bad about a pedo all you want.
@Tom….I’m with you. These men and women are “locked up”, “confined ” and being watched 24/7 and yet this still happens. Yes there are shakedowns and contraband searches and I understand there are bad guys in prison who will continue to find a way to be bad guys. The problem is when we start asking why weren’t the inmates being watched better or where was the security we are blasted by “if officers had better pay”, ” officers are overworked”…etc. It shouldn’t have anything to do with pay. They are hired to do a job and of they can’t do the job at the hiring rate then dont apply. Then there are the officers who like to apply their own rules and take in contraband, help out their gang buddies for a piece of the action, or believe they are the punisher. I know officers who take weapons and drugs to inmates and when threatened to expose I was the one punished by higher ups. There needs to be a reform but sad to say it’s not going to happen. Just need to get the word out there for people to stay out of prison.
P.S…no family has been allowed to visit since Feb. Go to D.O.C. website and look at all the contraband charges on officers and inmates. Inmates not getting it from family so……..
Tom, from the comment you posted it seems you clearly know nothing about the prison system and the housing of inmates.
Most people on the outside are well aware that baby rapists don’t do well in prison. No matter how heinous a crime another inmate commits, they all want somebody to look down on, to make their crime seem less horrible. If an inmate wants to hurt or kill another inmate, they will find a way, since they are masters of crimes to begin with. Also, there are plenty of news articles about FDOC being understaffed and overworked, so they can only do so much. It is sad, but prison, altho it SHOULD NOT be a death sentence, sometimes turns out to be just that…
Tom…..
I agree those that have short sentences should be housed with like prisoners.
I am sure that is the case here, the one that did this may have a very long sentence and as such needed to make his BONES. Or what ever they call it now where you let others knoow you dont put up with certain things. And the dead guy being a como was easy to make “Bones”….. The one that did it will have the respect of all the others as they wanted to do the same but either scared to or were short timers with a lot to lose.
I watched a lot of the prison documentary programs and even when the comos get in protective custody, they still are after them.
The rest in there for non violent charges are really stuck as there are others that get short terms but are hustlers and scammers and bully them because they plead to a lesser crime.
Even the most hardened convicts have an honor code in prison. The deceased prisoner was a good target because of his crime…which must have been horrific to receive two life sentences! I personally would have liked to see him forced to live out every day of his life in there considering what that child will have to deal with each day of her life! I have no sympathy for what has happened to the sex offender…NONE.
The problems with our prison system does not lie on the prison system itself, like most people put it. It is a problem with the morals and ethics that the general public demands the prison system to operate. It is not reasonable to expect the system to run safely while trying to comply with the demands of the general public.Give more control to the people that put their life in danger everyday trying to control the inmates. And quit blaming the officers when they have to beat down a inmate that does not understand anything but a beat down.Walk the halls of a prison for six months and you will have a different outlook of what really goes on.
@tom. I don’t think your local fraudster needs to worry about this. Whoever did this killed him because he was a pedophile, they don’t take too kindly to people that hurt kids.
He was a child molester. This is what happens in prison when you wanna diddle with kids and the guy deserves it too. Anyone that wants to touch kids like that should be sent to the firing squad.
@ Tom
This man probably Isn’t dead just because. Bottom line is, obey the law and you have nothing to worry about.
Tom must have either been to prison or has a loved one in prison. If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime.
@Tom,
Bottom line Tom, no child should ever be molested but they were by this piece of human trash, and because of that he was placed in prison. Now he is in an environment much the one he created for his victims. The difference here is, there are no small children for him to prey on.
People like him are nothing more than sabacious pieces of smegma that dripped from the folds of humanity and needed to be removed. I say good riddance.
People need to stop with all their pious righteousness, and bleeding hearts. Yes there are some innocent people in prison but the vast majority are their because of their own choices. According to flsheriffs.org 95% of prison population is repeat offenders.
The bleeding hearts and finger pointers never fail to disappoint. Tom, exactly what do you suggest should be done differently or better? Since 2014 there have been 4 inmates murdered at CCI. Public record, check it for yourself. Considering there are over 1,300 inmates there, many with high security status, that sounds like a pretty low percentage of murders to me. The only way to completely stop inmate violence would be to keep each of them locked in a cell alone 24/7. Based on your comments I don’t think you’d be in favor of that.
i have no sympathy for a child molester. anything that happens to them in prison is justice served as far as i am concerned.
Tom, the only actions someone is responsible for are their very own. Employees cannot control what another chooses to do at the prison. This incident was responded to and handled appropriately by staff. Murders happen all the time on the streets. Who do you blame for those? The president? I mean come on, man.
This really bothers me on a completely moral level, Look I know this guy committed awful things. But what about the other guy in there on lower level charges that is just serving a year or so for fraud etc? It really bothers me that this can even happen, I mean some of these people are non violent offenders just wanting to serve there time and return to society. Bottom line nobody should be getting (murdered) in our local prison. Some of these guys really just want to serve there time and be done with it. I think the higher ups in management here really need to rethink some of these policies because this is very much unacceptable. Where are peoples morals and ethics here? When you go to prison your life is literally in there hands, and right now Its obvious there’s some kind of systemic problem going on there that need’s immediate attention.