In an opinion-editorial, Bishop William Wack CSC of Pensacola-Tallahassee wrote the following: Tim Kane was a 14-year-old boy from Pasco County when he was indicted for capital felony murder. Tim has never killed anyone. He had no prior criminal history until one day in January of 1992 when he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

HB 1197 (Ahern) provides for automatic expungement of a juvenile's first-time misdemeanor after the offender completes a diversion program. The bill also allows for discretionary use of civil citations for adults. FCCB staff expressed support for the measure at a meeting of the Criminal Justice Subcommittee, which passed the bill unanimously (10-0).

HB 301 (White) was taken up by the full Senate and amended with the provisions of SB 196 (Flores) on second reading. The measure would ensure that all children in Florida receive equal access to civil citations, rather than arrest, when committing certain first-time, nonviolent misdemeanors. Juvenile civil citations serve as an alternative to criminal arrest and provide a second chance to youth who make mistakes while still holding them accountable for their actions. Such diversion programs also benefit society by reducing crime, saving the state money and helping build a productive citizenry. The bill also allows for data collection regarding the transfer of juveniles to the adult justice system, a provision supported by the FCCB. If the Senate passes the amended bill as expected it must return to the House for further consideration and final passage.

HB 205 (Ahern) was passed by its final committee of reference on Thursday. The proposal would provide for automatic expungement of a juvenile's first-time misdemeanor after the offender completes a diversion program. The bill was amended to also include discretionary use of civil citations for adults. FCCB staff expressed support for the measure during the committee hearing.

SB 196 by Sen. Anitere Flores (R-Miami) would ensure that all children in Florida receive equal access to civil citations, rather than arrest, when committing certain first-time, nonviolent misdemeanors. The bill was amended to allow data collection about the transfer of juveniles to the adult justice system, a provision supported by the FCCB. Ingrid Delgado, FCCB associate for social concerns/respect life, indicated support for the bill prior to its passage by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.

SB 302 by Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) prohibits the suspension of driver licenses for failure to pay fees related to traffic citations if the person demonstrates the inability to pay. This FCCB supported measure requires that a payment plan option be included on a notice of driving privilege suspension due to nonpayment of a fine. If the violator is unable to pay the citation in full, he or she may avoid a suspension by agreeing to a payment plan, based on his or her ability to pay. On Thursday, the bill was passed by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice, its second of three committees of reference.

On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously passed SB 458 (Brandes). This Catholic Days at the Capitol supported measure, creates a criminal justice reform task force that will conduct a comprehensive review of the state's criminal justice system, court system, and corrections system. The 28-member task force will be composed of members of the Florida House, Senate and executive branch designees, judges, county commissioners, a victim's advocate, a representative of the Florida State University Project on Accountable Justice, two representatives of the faith community, members of criminal defense and law enforcement associations, and a formerly incarcerated individual who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to rehabilitation and community improvement.

The FCCB expressed its support in committee this week for a bill creating a criminal justice task force. The newly created group will be charged with conducting a comprehensive review of the state's criminal justice, court and corrections systems. The 28-member task force will be composed of members of the Florida House, Senate and executive branch, judges, county commissioners, a victim's advocate, a representative of the Florida State University Project on Accountable Justice, two representatives of the faith community, members of criminal defense and law enforcement associations, and a formerly incarcerated individual who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to rehabilitation and community improvement.

SB 192 (Powell) passed its first committee of reference, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee (4-3). The bill revises the circumstances under which juveniles may be treated as an adult in the court system. Florida has three ways in which juveniles may be prosecuted as adults: as a result of a judicial waiver, by a grand jury indictment, or through the direct file process.

Sen. Anitere Flores (R-Miami) and Rep. Larry Ahern (R-Seminole) are sponsoring bills SB 196 and HB 205 to ensure that all children in Florida receive equal access to civil citations, rather than arrest, when committing first-time, nonviolent misdemeanors.

At a meeting of the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Monday, FCCB staff supported an amendment to SB 1394 (Brandes), a bill relating to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The amendment requires that a payment plan option be included on a notice of driving privilege suspension due to nonpayment of a fine. If the violator is unable to pay the citation in full, he or she may avoid a suspension by agreeing to a payment plan, based on his or her ability to pay.

On Wednesday, HB 545 (Spano) received final passage on unanimous votes in both the House (117-0) and the Senate (39-0). The bill and its companion, SB 784 (Flores), prevent youth under the age of 18 from being prosecuted for prostitution and reflect that sexually exploiting a child in prostitution should be viewed as human trafficking. FCCB supports the measure which ensures that children involved in prostitution are viewed as victims, not culprits. The bill proceeds next to Governor Scott for his signature.

Having unanimously passed the Senate on January 28, SB 386 (Detert) passed (113-2) in the full House chamber on Wednesday. The measure requires automatic expungement of juvenile criminal records when offenders reach the age of 21, with exceptions for those who have been classified as violent or habitual offenders. It goes next to Governor Scott for his signature. The House companion was HB 147 (Latvala, C.).

On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to SB 7068 that requires at least 10 of 12 jurors agree on a recommendation of death. FCCB staff opposed the amendment, which removed the requirement for a unanimous jury decision in order to impose a death sentence. Unanimity is required in every other circumstance when a jury is summoned in Florida. A unanimous jury requirement promotes more thoughtful deliberation among jurors and ensures a more reliable sentencing process.

As a nation we incarcerate more of our population than any other Western country, more than even the Soviet Union did. Today, the United States has more than 2.2 million people in prison on any given day — and in the course of a year some 13.5 million passed through our correctional institutions. In Florida, our state prisons, which house some 100,000 people, have been tainted by scandals in recent years — with various allegations of prisoner abuse and even murder by guards still being investigated.