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News: State leaders discuss criminal justice issues in Orlando
By admin | On February 3, 2014 In Smart Justice in FloridaOrlando Sentinel – January 27, 2014 By Amy Pavuk The thousands of inmates released from Florida’s prisons each year aren’t given much to start their new life — a bus ticket and $40. Without a driver’s license or identification card, it can be difficult to accomplish even the simplest tasks once they’re free. It’s a […]
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Editorial: Time for Florida to get smart on justice reforms
By admin | On October 2, 2013 In Smart Justice in FloridaOrlando Sentinel – September 29, 2013 Is it just us or does sentencing and corrections reform in Florida play like a scene from “50 First Dates?” That’s the rom-com about a woman with short-term memory loss who forgets her persistent suitor the next morning after every date. Consider: At a panel discussion Tuesday in Tallahassee, […]
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News: Cutback in arrests aims to get teens on right track
By admin | On September 23, 2013 In Smart Justice in FloridaSouth Florida Sun Sentinel – Sept. 22, 2013 By Brittany Wallman, Staff writer From the pulpit of Mount Bethel Baptist, Broward Sheriff Scott Israel preached a short message last Sunday that the congregants hadn’t heard before: We’re going to stop arresting so many teenagers in this county. “We have to measure our success by the […]
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News: Could Major Prison Reforms Become A Reality In Florida Next Year?
By admin | On August 24, 2013 In Smart Justice in FloridaWFSU (Florida Public Radio) – August 23, 2013 Listen to the story By Sascha Cordner Making sure released inmates don’t come back to prison is a main goal for prison reform advocates not only on the federal level, but the state level as well. Florida, in recent years, has tried and failed to implement a […]
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News: Easing strict prison terms a ‘tough sell’ in Fla.
By admin | On August 14, 2013 In Smart Justice in FloridaPalm Beach Post – August 12, 2013 By John Kennedy, Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau TALLAHASSEE — The Obama administration’s policy changes Monday aimed at reducing prison spending and fostering what some officials say is more fairness in the criminal justice system have their supporters in Florida. But efforts to deploy a similar approach statewide […]
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Column: Time to take a hard look at state minimum mandatory sentences, too
By admin | On August 13, 2013 In Smart Justice in FloridaTampa Bay Times – August 13, 2013 By John Romano, Times Columnist We are good. We are very, very good. When it comes to identifying, apprehending, trying and convicting criminals, the state of Florida takes a back seat to virtually no one. Our prison population has more than doubled in the past 20 years and, […]
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News: Holder seeks to avert mandatory minimum sentences for some low-level drug offenders
By admin | On August 12, 2013 In Smart Justice ElsewhereWashington Post – August 11, 2013 By Sari Horwitz Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced Monday that low-level, nonviolent drug offenders with no ties to gangs or large-scale drug organizations will no longer be charged with offenses that impose severe mandatory sentences. The new Justice Department policy is part of a comprehensive prison reform […]
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Op-ed: Work Release Remains Valuable for Safety, Savings
By admin | On July 23, 2013 In Smart Justice in Florida(Note: This commentary article appeared in the Tampa Bay Times on July 11, 2013; the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on July 15, 2013; and the Tallahassee Democrat on July 23, 2013) By Barney Bishop A great risk in setting public policy is the tendency to overreact to an instance of bad luck or poor judgment that results […]
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News: As Prisons Squeeze Budgets, GOP Rethinks Crime Focus
By admin | On July 22, 2013 In Smart Justice ElsewhereWall Street Journal – June 21, 2013 By NEIL KING JR. GAINESVILLE, Ga.—Weeks after his election as Georgia governor in 2010, Nathan Deal was pulled aside by a conservative state lawmaker with urgent business to discuss. Rep. Jay Neal, a small-town pastor, said he had the seeds of a plan to cut Georgia’s swelling prison […]
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News: Woman in prison for 13 years for vehicular homicide ready to start new life on outside
By admin | On July 18, 2013 In Smart Justice in FloridaOrlando Sentinel – July 18, 2013 After nearly 13 years, Beth Dodd will walk out of prison at the stroke of midnight July 29 and into the arms of her mother, whom she hasn’t seen in five years. Life is rebooting for Beth, and the 33-year-old woman who loves knitting, crocheting, sewing and dogs is […]
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Smart Justice for a Safer Florida