Mr. Boatman is getting some great news coverage in the Tampa area once again…
By Keith Morelli of The Tampa Tribune
BRANDON – In a patch of earth behind the Falkenburg Road Jail grows pure heat. There are habaneros, jalapeños, long red peppers and stubby yellow ones.And there’s the Trinidad scorpion. The name sounds dangerous and that’s no coincidence, said Allen Boatman, who supervises the 20 or so men who tend this hot garden all Hillsborough County jail inmates.
The scorpion raised here is one of the peppers used in making a special batch of hot sauce that hits the shelves this week. It’s called Jailhouse Fire. Once or twice a year, depending on the harvest, inmates in the jail’s horticultural program pick the peppers, make a mash, bottle and sell it as hot sauce under a different, clever name.
The average habanero pales next to the Trinidad scorpion in a heat contest, Boatman said. The Scoville scale, a less than precise measurement of heat, puts a habanero at about 200,000 units. The scorpion is said to rate a million or more.
Inmate Mike Frawley, 55, knows the danger. Sitting inside a doublewide mobile home ““ the classroom, lunchroom and office for the program ““ Frawley patiently used a razor blade to extract tiny seeds from a jellybean size pepper. He wore surgical gloves to keep the hot stuff off his skin and eyes.
He chuckled at the memory of people who weren’t so careful.
“I’ve never seen a guy with sweat beads on the back of his neck,” he recalled.
Inmates generally enjoy working outside and being a part of a profitable enterprise, Boatman said.
“I requested to be in this program,” said Jay Leonard, 60, as he finished up repotting some plants inside the greenhouse. “We’ve got 50 or 60 different kinds here and a couple of the hottest peppers on earth.”
Plus, greenhouse inmates get the sauce with their lunches every other day.
40 responses to “Hillsborough Jail Inmates Pick Peppers For Hot Sauce”
for some reason I just don’t agree with this program and will not be supporting it by purchasing this sauce.
I like the first comment on the article’s site:
“I think if a bunch of people waited until the peppers were ready to be picked, and then jumped the fence to steal them it would be a great way to teach the thieves a lesson, and show them how bad it feels when what you worked for gets stolen.”
“Gonna see Miss Lyla-
Gonna go to Mississippi!
Gonna see Miss Lyla-
Gonna go to Mississippi!”
Can any of you chiiheads guess what Movie THAT came form?
Personally, I think it’s a great idea and Will be purchasing this sauce (if I can figure out how).
I think it’s pretty cool and would like to order a bottle. Let me know if you figure out how, Rob.
Something about inmates with razor blades sounds wrong. I also think profiting with prison labor is wrong unless they are paying restitution for the damage their crimes have caused.
He was at the Fiery Foods Show last year and is planning on being there again this year. I think he cruises by here once in awhile so hopefully he’ll post the info.
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Cool Hand Luke?
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It doesn’t say they are profitting it says they are paying back into a fund that fronted (lent) them the money for the greenhouse and supplies.
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Sorry. It’s a rather funny moment when Woody Allen was part of a chain gang in Take The Money And Run.
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All US prisons profit from the labors of the inmate, both inside and outside of the prison, don’t they?
That’s the whole point of giving them a job and paying them a dollar an hour.
Punching licence plates, which are then sold to the DMV was a big business back in the day.
Not sure anymore, but the inmate work projects always make money for the prison as far as I understood.
But WTF do I know?
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I have ordered the first bottles that they came out with.I did not open it,I put it up with my other bottles.I think this is just a very ignorant comment!!! Anyone interested in ordering i have the name and contact info of the warden.Anyone interested just contact me i will be happy to give you the info. Im glade to see that these guys are doing something productive.Everyone deserves a second chance
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Wow, what a great idea. Why don’t you be the first to give that a try there smart guy.
I would like to try that hot sauce, but I would love some of those trinidads so I can make more of my salsa.
I’m shocked anyone would have a problem with this program.
Shocked? Really? Letting prisoners have access to razor blades? Really, you are shocked? Hell, I’m shocked that you’re shocked.
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Right on Doug, I’ll give you a call this weekend. This guy was cool, talked to him a while in NM and had some of the samples he gave out, they were good. I’m all for this program and wish to support it as well.
THANKS !!
http://www.jailhousefire.org
This is where they are telling me you can buy this sauce..
These are a great bunch of guy!!!! Help them out
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Nope, not there.
You can e-mail me by looking up my logon (‘Blundaar’). Thanks!
Rob!!! After doing some digging i found out that it only comes out every six months….but You can call the following # and ask for Leslie Parker she will be able to help anyone that is interested in ordering a bottle or two
813 247 8479
She is really a nice lady and would love to help anyone out..
Remember, jails are paid for with tax dollars. I’m certain any profit made is small compared to the cost to operate a prison, including food, clothing and medicine for the prisoners.
I’m also surprised that people have a problem with this. Most people in jail are poor inner city folks who’ve never been exposed to gardening or the like, and if it helps even a couple inmates become more productive citizens after they’ve served their debt to society, I think it’s a great thing. Punishment alone doesn’t improve overall behavior, but exposing people to new and interesting things can be a powerful motivator of change.
Obviously the traditional rehab programs aren’t working with overpopulation being such a problem, so why not let innovative people in the system explore these types of alternatives. Plus, hot sauce made in a prison is just damn cool…there could be toothbrush shank hidden in my bottle! Bonus prize!
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great comments!!!
Lets all have a group hug
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Taken from El Diario-La Prensa, New York
At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons. The list of such companies contains the cream of U.S. corporate society: IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Wireless, Texas Instrument, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Intel, Northern Telecom, TWA, Nordstrom’s, Revlon, Macy’s, Pierre Cardin, Target Stores, and many more. All of these businesses are excited about the economic boom generation by prison labor. Just between 1980 and 1994, profits went up from $392 million to $1.31 billion. Inmates in state penitentiaries generally receive the minimum wage for their work, but not all; in Colorado, they get about $2 per hour, well under the minimum. And in privately-run prisons, they receive as little as 17 cents per hour for a maximum of six hours a day, the equivalent of $20 per month. The highest-paying private prison is CCA in Tennessee, where prisoners receive 50 cents per hour for what they call “highly skilled positions.” At those rates, it is no surprise that inmates find the pay in federal prisons to be very generous. There, they can earn $1.25 an hour and work eight hours a day, and sometimes overtime. They can send home $200-$300 per month.
Thanks to prison labor, the United States is once again an attractive location for investment in work that was designed for Third World labor markets. A company that operated a maquiladora (assembly plant in Mexico near the border) closed down its operations there and relocated to San Quentin State Prison in California. In Texas, a factory fired its 150 workers and contracted the services of prisoner-workers from the private Lockhart Texas prison, where circuit boards are assembled for companies like IBM and Compaq.
Oregon State Representative Kevin Mannix recently urged Nike to cut its production in Indonesia and bring it to his state, telling the shoe manufacturer that “there won’t be any transportation costs; we’re offering you competitive prison labor (here).”
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Just so long as it’s not in the prison shower AJ, no problem!!
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Big!
I see where you are coming from about large companies using Imates for there own profits but i have to disagree with you on this one. The county is teaching these inmates a skill that can be used when they get out to be more productive in life.The inmates are taught how to grow the peppers and bottle them.I can go on and on about how they are taught to grown organic pepers and such but i won’t!!(your welcome) Again Big i see your point about big bussiness and how they will do just about anything to make a buck,but in this case these inmates are truely doing the right thing!Thanks for listening
Uncle Big,
The way I look at it is tax economics. Think of it this way. The cost of operating prisons in 2001 was $45 billion (quoted from Fortune magazine, April 30, 2001.) I believe the max corporate tax rate is around 40%, so that means prison laborers are generating a max of $0.52 billion per year in taxes to pay for their incarceration costs of $45 billion (comparing 2001 costs to your 1994 figure isn’t entirely fair, but it’ll be ballpark correct.) It’s not the majority of the cost, but at least it’s something that the rest of us don’t have to pay for in taxes.
Plus, enticing businesses to the state instead of going out of country has other advantages, namely creating a corporate and managerial structure in the US. Again, jobs + corporate profits => lower taxes for citizens.
All that still misses the biggest point I think, which is that so many disadvantages people are in jail for minor crimes, and giving those people a chance to learn a skill that can help those who want to improve their lives a better chance to be socially productive after serving time is a good thing.
Truth and John S.,
Points taken. I’m not trying to stir the pot, I was actually shocked when I Google US Correctional Facilities Profits and poof, more than I wanted to know.
Let me make one thing clear, what they are doing with this program in NO WAY offends me, makes me uncomfortable, or is disagreeable to me in any way shape or form. If I wasn’t absolutely sure that if customs didn’t scoop the package for God only knows why, or Mother Nature would make a popsicle out of it, I’d be ordering a set for the shelf.
I think it’s really cool that they are doing what they are doing. More power to them, I was only commenting on the posts saying I won’t support it, blah blah blah.
My point was this, the naysayers about this program are more than likely using more than one product made in a US Penitentiary or other correctional facility and are being well, for lack of a better word, hypocritical through sheer ignorance on their part.
I think it would serve us all better knowing where our shoes, cell phones and skin care products are being made before we poo poo the source of a hot sauce. Ya feel me?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for slave labor, that’s why I got married. I hate labeling bottles, the Mrs. is much better at it than me, plus she works for cheap (hugs and kisses hunny!) 😉
Hey Sam, Did you read the same article I did. Quote: “Inmates generally enjoy working outside and being a part of a profitable enterprise, Boatman said.”
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Uncle Big, great points. I see where you are coming from.
I’m sure a lot of parents with toys are considering that for the first time this Christmas, as well. It is amazing how little we know about the products we use and give to our families every day. (Resist temptation to go off on food additives here.)
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Chilebrown, I don’t care to get in a pissing match here. I did read the same article. You may have missed something. Let me quote for you. “All profits go to the canteen fund, which fronted the program $250,000 to build the green house seven years ago and get the horticultural program started”. “We’re just paying the canteen back”, Boatman said.
Now I’m no financial wizard but $250,000 times 7 years interest plus costs associated with raw materials, packing, labeling, promotion, and obviously a representative travels to the shows if other bloggers have met him at FFS.
Let me see, I have serious doubts that any profit will be made in any of the current inmates lifetimes. Ask some of the other manufacturers.
Ok, who’s here going to actually admit they were in jail?
Me, I was. 10 days in Sheriff Jow Arpiao’s infamous TENT CITY jail in Phoenix AZ. Ahhh the drinking days, one of the rewards for driving intoxicated.
Anything to get out of the “cell” in this case, tent, was great, we would have picked weeds along the highways to get out, oh yeah, they do that too, the ” Chain Gang ” is just as famous as the tents themselves.
If these guys can get out and learn something, more power to’em.
edit: Sheriff Joe Arpiao incorrectly spelled
Google him
I stand by my original comment. These people were put in prison for a reason. Usually there is a victim in a crime. If you ask the victims if they are concerned about the rep at FFS making a profit or loss, I think you may change your opinion.
I am through pissing. Peace, Paul
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I’ve been “a guest of the province” a few times back in the day.
All just local detachment lockups, mostly for alcohol fueled fisty cuffs, a few lewd acts here and there, public mischief and/or nudity, an incident with some fireworks and a portapotty, vadalism of a government office, did I mention fistycuffs?
One time fisty cuffs gone wrong extended my stay a little, but it’s all in the past now in the eyes of the law.
I did spend the night in a US jail in Montana. Who knew you couldn’t pee in a back alley without getting in trouble. I blame the US beer companies for making such weak beer. You have to drink twice as much for it to take affect, therefore one must pee twice as much. It’s simple math.
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Lets just killem then, why bother. Oh my gawd, I ‘m sounding like a liberal, ewwwwww
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Im sure that if you asl the millions of tax payer if the would like to see the imates start to pay for their own shelter,food meds they would agree that there should be more programs like these.Chilibrown you do make a good point and i respect that but these program help to fund the rehabilataion of many inmates
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Hey Jerky!
I got your voicemail, we’re swamped at the shop today, so probably no time to call.
I know you weren’t implying anything, no worries buddy, we’re cool as always.
Hope all is well with you and your Tamale.
Good glade you got the call i will call later on next week ..oh your points well taken!!Chilibrowns also!!! lisa says hi hope all is well
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Before I crash…….75% of inmates in a county jail are awaiting trial and have not been convicted of anything, and are there simply because they cannot afford bail. I know, I’m as conservative as they get , and I see your point and agree 100% as far as victims go, but …whatever, this is a hotsauce blog, not a political site.
I digress………………
Goodnight folks
I think it is a good cause and happen to know that it’s not a chile pepper chain gang and the profits made go to take some of the burden of tax payers by using it in the prisoners canteen fund. Also these inmates are trustees trying to better themselves, Allen is a horticulture teacher there, so there is classroom time. Also it’s not all chiles and hot sauce production, I’ve seen pics of other things grown for learning horticulture and not a hot sauce sweat shop.
I’ve tasted the first sauce and it’s pretty good and just recently ordered the two newest sauces.