Tallahassee Calls Mandatory Sentences a Waste of Taxpayer Money

Written by:Julian Stroleny PortraitJulian Stroleny

In a major move recently, the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted that the money used to house offenders for the entire period of the current mandatory sentences is wasted. These mandatory sentences are being tossed out like free t-shirts at a baseball game and can seriously affect a person’s life for a single mistake. For example, someone selling a few dozen prescription pills ends up with a mandatory 25-year sentence – a sentence that costs taxpayers $451,600 at around $18,065 per year).

Now, every Criminal Lawyer In Miami will likely be swamped with calls as offenders try to find out if their sentence is going to be reduced. This bill definitely moves away from the “tough on crime” mindset that has been the party line of conservatives and filled up Florida jails and prisons. It has also created a new class of people – those who have spent nearly all of their life in prison and may be institutionalized.

This bill will save the state $131 million and put over 1000 fewer people in jail over a year, according to Senator Daryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg). It would also allow judges to pass out sentences other than the 118 mandatory ones that are now on the books. The bill does exclude drug traffickers but it restores the original sentencing commission which was disbanded in 1997, and limits the committee’s powers to determining the severity ranking of their crime, which adds points to their jacket for some offenses. Violent offenses are not given any leniency however.

Florida has traditionally been very hard on crime, even for minor offenses and this reform is being brought by a coalition of advocates along with several others. One of those forced police to issue lineups blindly, one required the police to record all parts of an interrogation and one that would allow victims of wrongful incarceration to be compensated, even if they have a previous conviction, something that was not the case in the past.

If you want to further educate yourself regarding the implications this new law, or you need the services of a Miami criminal defense lawyer for any other reason, make sure that you contact a criminal attorney in Miami that is experienced at criminal practice and up-to-date with these new laws. Contact a criminal lawyer in Miami with questions about your case.

Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney handles a variety of criminal law cases, so call now if you have any questions, (305) 615-1285.

View more contact information here: Criminal Lawyer In Miami.


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