(Story distributed by The Associated Press) June 26, 2012 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services hearing officer is Florida’s newest parole commissioner. Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet appointed Melinda Nisi Coonrod to the three-member Parole Commission on Tuesday. Coonrood’s appointment is effective from July 1, 2012 to June 30, […]
Published: Monday, June 25, 2012, 10:20 AM By Contributing writer, The Times-Picayune Life-without-parole sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional, according to a 5-4 opinion Monday morning from the U.S. Supreme Court that involved a 14-year-old convicted of murder in Alabama. Evan Miller was convicted of arson and murder in Lawrence County, but his life without […]
By Matt Pierce, Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2012 George Zimmerman returns to jail in Trayvon Martin shooting case. He surrenders two days after a Florida judge found he had misled the court about his finances when a low bail was set. George Zimmerman, right, charged in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, […]
May 31, 2012 Courtesy of Democratic Governors Association A federal judge blocked enforcement of key provisions of a restrictive voting law in Florida today, a breakthrough victory for Florida voters and voting rights advocates nationwide. The law, H.B. 1355, included onerous restrictions on community-based voter registration drives, forcing the League of Women Voters of Florida and […]
COURTESY OF PROJECT R.E.A.C.H. INC Several months after the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, a task force held its first meeting to examine the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law that has been at the center of the uproar surrounding the Florida teen’s death.
Marissa Alexander is a 31 year old mother of three is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in a Florida prison for discharging her firearm into the ceiling of her home to ward off further abuse at the hands of her husband, Rico Gray. Mr. Gray had just assaulted Marissa and was at […]
UPDATE Angela Corey, special prosecutor from Duval County, Florida, appointed by Governor Rick Scott, formally charged George Zimmerman with second degree murder for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012. Trayvon was unarmed and walking through a Sanford community wearing a hoodie when he was followed and confronted by Mr. Zimmerman who claimed […]
CS/HB 177: Inmate Reentry GENERAL BILL by Judiciary Committee; Rulemaking and Regulation Subcommittee; Criminal Justice Subcommittee; Porth; Campbell; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Baxley; Costello; Fullwood; Glorioso; Grant; Pafford; Pilon; Rogers; Rouson; Sands VETOED Inmate Reentry; Directs DOC to develop & administer reentry program for nonviolent offenders; requires substance abuse treatment & rehabilitative programming; specifies eligibility criteria; requires […]
Message From Ben Todd Jealous NAACP President and CEO Trayvon Prosecutor foregoes grand jury Florida State Attorney, Angela Corey, made a surprising announcement. She decided to forego a grand jury in the Trayvon Martin case. Her decision has put the responsibility of whether or not to prosecute George Zimmerman squarely on her shoulders and […]
Trayvon Martin, 17 years of age was shot in the chest and killed by a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida on February 26, 2012. He’d just purchased a bag of skittles and an Arizona iced tea and was headed home, walking through a gated community with his hoodie pulled over his head when George Zimmerman, an overly zealous […]