What began with an unlikely tip from an inmate at Dade Correctional Institution about a death in a shower has led to a revamping of the Florida prison system.

The Miami Herald has spent the last year investigating suspicious deaths statewide. In a continuing series, the Herald has revealed brutal treatment against inmates.

Florida inmate deaths, already among the nation's highest per capita, rose 13 percent in 2014. Use of force has doubled even as the inmate population remained stable.

Since the Herald published its findings, the Department of Corrections has replaced its top administrator, ousted dozens of abusive guards, ordered an independent audit of use of force by staff, hired ombudsmen to advocate for inmates with mental illnesses, increased training and unveiled a website where inmate deaths are publicly recorded.

The state has also revived dormant death investigations, and Gov. Rick Scott proposed a $50 million increase in funding to the Department of Corrections. The reports have also resulted in a series of legislative hearings on prison reform.

The project team

Julie K. Brown is an enterprise reporter at the Miami Herald. During her 20-year career, she has written and won awards for stories about corruption, cold case police probes, and tragedies such as the downing of John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane and Hurricane Wilma. A Philadelphia native, she was a staff writer for The Philadelphia Daily News before moving seven years ago to Miami. She has won National Headliners Awards, National Education Association awards and honors from the Pennsylvania and Florida Societies of Professional Journalists.

MARY ELLEN KLAS is the Miami Herald's Tallahassee bureau chief, where she's covered politics for more than a decade. She previously worked for Florida Trend magazine and The Palm Beach Post.

Casey Frank is the Miami Herald's senior editor for investigations and enterprise. He is a 33-year Herald veteran and previously worked for the Tampa Tribune and the Coffeyville Journal.

Chris Alcantara is an interactive news developer at the Miami Herald. Before joining the Herald in 2015, he interned at The Palm Beach Post and The Gainesville Sun. He is a University of Florida graduate.

Other Miami Herald staffers and interns who contributed to this series include: Ann Choi, Kara Dapena, Monica Discare, Katie Lepri, Marco Ruiz and Michael Vasquez.