• Juvenile Criminal Records to be Expunged
    February 25, 2016
    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.).
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  • Senate Amends Bill to Require 10-2 Jury Decision for a Death Sentence
    February 25, 2016
    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.
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  • ‘God is in everyone's life' - even those in prison
    August 22, 2015
    by Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Archdiocese of Miami
    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.
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