PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – A Pinellas County jail inmate has filed a personal health and hygiene lawsuit against the State of Florida.
Robert Eugene Greathouse, 62, from St. Petersburg, was jailed in July 2018 for committing sexual battery and failing to register as a sex offender. Currently awaiting trial, his bond was set at $125,000 total for dual offenses. Greathouse was originally imprisoned for luring a Clearwater Beach girl, under the age of 15, into the woods and committing sexually abusive acts against her. Greathouse served 11.5 years for this crime and was released from prison in July 2016.
Greathouse complains it has been six months since inmates have received haircuts or received enough razors for beard cuttings or trimmings, and that without these services, it “deprives the inmate of basic hygiene and threatens their physical or mental well-being.” He indicates that other institutional settings allow haircuts by sterilizing or sanitizing the clippers, apparently not believing authorities’ explanations that the services are prohibited due to COVID-19. He states that upon a past request for clippers, he was told they were broken, but afterward, he filed an internal complaint and then was told no one was aware the clippers had been broken and that new clippers were ordered. As for razors provided twice a week for beard-cutting or trimming, Greathouse states that one razor will not cut his beard, which is now six inches long. It is unknown if inmates receive two new razors every week or just one that is considered re-usable.
His second complaint regards unfulfilled requests for toe and nail clippers. Greathouse says his fingernails are so long they affect his eating, and that “my toenails are cutting holes in my socks.” Citing the Eighth Amendment which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment,” Greathouse accuses his Defendant, The State of Florida, for exhibiting “deliberate indifference,” and declares “there is no reasonable excuse for the deprivation of our hygiene.”
Deputy Sibley in the Public Information Office of the Pinellas County Sheriff was asked about the accusations of “cruel and unusual punishment” and how that was defined for the jail system. He stated he could not comment on pending litigation.
We will note that on the same day this complaint was filed, a second inmate in Pinellas County, and sexual predator, Mark Steven Burrow, 68, from St. Petersburg, filed a complaint against Pinellas County Sheriff Robert Gualtieri for health and hygiene concerns.
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