Sheriffs Offered Caribbean Cruises and Florida Retreats as Part of Jail Telecom Contracts Smart Communications, a for-profit Florida company that sells phone, videochat, and email-like services to prisons and jails, told at least one sheriff’s department that it can live “the resort life” on a trip to Florida. Hayden Betts
Florida’s ‘Secret’ Formulas to Calculate Release Dates May Be Trapping People in Prison The ACLU’s ongoing battle to force the Florida Department of Corrections to release the formulas it uses to calculate release dates for imprisoned people. Jerry Iannelli
The Greatest Threat To Defunding The Police? State Pre-emption. A little-known legal tool allows states to override progressive policies in cities. John Pfaff
After Daunte Wright’s Death, Advocates Press Leaders to Get Police Out of Traffic Enforcement Cities across the country must rethink the role of law enforcement, as police continue to brutalize and kill Black men and women during traffic stops, advocates say. Joshua Vaughn
In Florida, Cops Who Kill Civilians Can Now Remain Anonymous Democratic prosecutors in Tampa and Miami campaigned for the 2018 initiative that paved the way for this new ruling. Jerry Iannelli
A Florida Lawmaker Introduced Legislation to Remove Traffic Enforcement From Police Cities across the country have begun exploring traffic enforcement without police. This bill proposes doing so statewide. Meg O'Connor
A Florida Senator Wants to Exclude People With Felony Convictions From the State’s Minimum Wage Increase It’s the latest bill in the state legislature’s long history of meddling with voter-approved amendments. Jerry Iannelli
His Attorneys Say He’s Intellectually Disabled. A ‘Reform’ Prosecutor Wants The Death Penalty State Attorney Melissa Nelson is pushing for a death sentence even as more prosecutors reject capital punishment. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Florida Activists Flood Polling Sites With Volunteers to Combat Voter Suppression A grassroots coalition is showing up at locations across the swing state to ensure Black and Latinx voters can cast their ballots safely. Harrison Jacobs
‘Democracy Pressure-Tested’: Voter Suppression Efforts Underway As Election Nears Efforts by elected leaders in several states are making it harder to get to the polls and fomenting misinformation about the election amid a pandemic. Joshua Vaughn
Florida’s Most Powerful Pro-Police Lobbying Group Is An Anti-Reform Force The Florida Sheriffs Association gains a third of its multimillion-dollar budget by selling big-ticket items like trucks and mobile command centers to local sheriff’s departments and other government agencies. Jerry Iannelli
Florida Governor’s Bid To Felonize Protesting Is An Attack On Democracy, Justice Advocate Says Legislation proposed this week by Gov. Ron DeSantis also seeks to withhold state funding from counties that move to decrease police budgets. Lauren Gill, Jerry Iannelli
Loved Ones And Prisoners Sound Alarm As Coronavirus Cases Surge At Florida’s Largest Women’s Prison As of Thursday, 993 incarcerated women and 62 staffers at Lowell Correctional Institution have tested positive for the virus. Two women have died. Alexandra DeLuca
Florida Residents Trapped In Substandard Housing Face A New Threat: An Eviction Moratorium Set To Expire In Weeks. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed Florida lawmakers’ failure to build affordable housing for its residents. Jerry Iannelli
The Public Health Risks of Jailing People for Poverty In Hillsborough County, Florida, the jail population is bloated by cash bail, fines, and fees, perpetuating health inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Palm Beach County Sheriff Opposes Prisoner Release Amid Coronavirus Outbreak Public defenders are working with the courts to secure release for people incarcerated in the Florida county, many of whom are jailed for low-level offenses. Victoria Law
As COVID-19 Ravages Florida, Incarcerated People Are Still Doing The State’s Hard Outdoor Labor Despite risks to incarcerated people and the public, Florida is sending prisoners to perform hard labor. Jerry Iannelli
Sex Offender Registry Requirements Leave Some Facing Stark Choices As Coronavirus Risks Grow Inconsistent rules nationwide mean some people are still registering and reporting in person despite public health directives meant to control COVID-19. Dawn R. Wolfe
With Prison Visitation Suspended Due To COVID-19, Families Of Incarcerated People Say Phone Calls Should Be Free Telecommunications companies that serve prisons and jails, like Securus Technologies and Global Tel Link, are offering a limited number of free calls, but families say it’s not enough. Molly Minta
Fears Grow That Coronavirus Could Overtake Florida’s Largest Women’s Prison With COVID-19 rapidly spreading across the state, there’s heightened concern that the conditions inside Lowell Correctional Institution, coupled with the prison’s sizable elderly and pregnant population, could foster a deadly outbreak. Alexandra DeLuca
As COVID-19 Spreads In South Florida, Miami-Dade Police Department Instructs Officers To Issue Citations For All Misdemeanor Offenses One of America’s largest police forces says it’s drastically reducing the number of people it arrests during the coronavirus pandemic. Jerry Iannelli
As Florida Primary Approaches, Many With Felony Convictions Remain Unclear if They Can Vote Advocates worry the widespread confusion may have a chilling effect on eligible voters. Kira Lerner
Florida’s HIV Criminalization Laws Target Sex Workers. A Reform Bill Offers Little Relief. 67% of people arrested under state laws that criminalize HIV exposure and transmission are sex workers. But new legislation meant to modernize these laws would retain harsh penalties against them. Molly Minta
In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler
Florida Can’t Bar People From Voting Because of Inability to Pay, Appeals Court Says The court found that a law that critics described as a poll tax violates the Constitution. Kira Lerner
In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta
Florida County: People On Sex Offender Registry Should Shelter From Dorian in Jail Barred from other shelters, registrants were left with few options as the hurricane approached. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Stoking Hostility Toward Homeless People Dozens of reports about an indigent man in Bradenton, Florida, showed the cruel excesses of local news’s homelessness coverage. Adam H. Johnson
When Cops Lie, Should Prosecutors Rely Upon Their Testimony At Trial? In California, Texas and Florida, advocates sent letters to district attorneys, demanding that they refuse to work with officers with histories of misconduct. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Florida Sheriffs Arrest Hundreds In ‘Trafficking’ Stings Offices across the state conduct operations under the guise of saving victims of human trafficking. But the vast majority of people detained, including sex workers, are charged with prostitution. Molly Minta
Miami Officials: Most People Who Owe Fines and Fees Can Vote Lawyers and advocates in Miami-Dade County will roll out a new plan to counter the disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions. Kira Lerner, Daniel Nichanian
In Alabama, Decades-Delayed Justice In A Double Homicide—Or A Brand New Injustice? Police in Ozark said they solved the 1999 murders of two teenage girls using a genealogy database. But Coley McCraney‘s attorneys say that the case against their client is far from certain. Lauren Gill
America’s New ‘Sheriff of the Year’ Pushed to Allow Teachers to Carry Weapons in School Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County, Florida, is one of the state’s most controversial lawmen. Jessica Pishko
In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta
Floridians Are Suing a Cop Fired for Planting Drugs in Their Vehicles Thanks to the diligence of one assistant state attorney, 119 cases were thrown out and the officer is under state investigation. Katie Rose Quandt
Family of Orlando Prisoner Who Died After Police Dog Bites Gets Legal Breakthrough A new court order allows the family’s lawsuit to proceed, and may lead to holding jail staff accountable. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
‘I Can’t Afford It and I Never Will Be Able To’ Florida is poised to pass a law that imposes a ‘poll tax’ on thousands of formerly incarcerated people. Kira Lerner
Florida Woman Faced 10 Years For ‘Meth’ That Was ‘Just a Rock’ A scandal of falsified drug arrests is spreading at a Florida sheriff’s office that has also spent more than $1.33 million settling excessive force lawsuits and is at the center of the increasingly troubled Robert Kraft case. Meg O'Connor
Undercutting reform, Florida moves to ban certain people from ever voting again Lawmakers are redefining certain crimes in order to carve out broad exceptions to who can regain the right to vote. Kira Lerner
Miami Police Arrest Thousands of Homeless But Leave Rapes, Robberies Unsolved In 2017, over 2,000 homeless people were arrested on charges including drinking in public and panhandling. That same year, roughly 1,400 people were arrested in Miami-Dade County for rape, murder, and robbery. Meg O'Connor
Woman Faces Life In Prison For Sharing Drugs With Another Woman In Jail A 22-year-old woman overdosed and died in jail. A 24-year-old faces first-degree murder charges. Did the system fail them both? Tana Ganeva
The Appeal Podcast: The Backlash Against Expanding Voting Rights With Appeal staff reporter Kira Lerner Adam H. Johnson
ICE Wanted To Deport Him to Jamaica. But He Was Born In The U.S. A Philadelphia-born man was detained by ICE and nearly deported. The agency’s mistake was caught, but the case exposes a new collaborative program that encourages jails to hold immigrants for ICE. Debbie Nathan
Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Proves Inescapable Critics say the state's policy of keeping non-residents registered bloats the list—and harms public safety. Steven Yoder
Inside ‘The Stop-And-Frisk Capital of America’ Claims including sexual assault of a woman with mental illness to lying in reports haunt the Miami Gardens police; payouts in federal lawsuits have cost the city's taxpayers at least $3.5 million. Meg O'Connor
Prison Tech Company Is Questioned for Retaining ‘Voice Prints’ of People Presumed Innocent Defense attorneys say they were unaware of the practice and are unclear on how they can expunge the data of nonconvicted clients. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan
Cops Claimed She Set Up A Drug Deal. Now She’s Being Prosecuted For Manslaughter. A Florida woman with substance use disorder allegedly brokered a drug sale that ended in a fatal overdose; she faces 15 years in prison. Zachary A. Siegel
Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan
Florida Locales Vote to Stop Using Prison Labor—and Others May Follow One commissioner wants the state Department of Corrections to show proof that his county isn’t just using prisoners as ‘slaves.’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
This Florida County’s Sheriff Is Controversial. But His Election Won’t Be Close. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office stands accused of violating immigrants’ rights and dismissing a shocking number of jail deaths. George Joseph
Why do Prisoners in Florida Keep Dying? With privatization of the state’s prisons in full swing, this year is on track to be its deadliest on record. Michael Sainato
A Florida Sheriff’s Dramatic Drug Raid Went Viral, But It Wasn’t What It Seemed In the ‘fentanyl’ bust at a ‘narcotics house,’ no opioids were seized at all. George Joseph
A National Push For Victims’ Rights is Now Hitting Florida. But Critics Are Fighting Back. Meaghan Ybos
Longtime Miami prosecutor faces criticism after failing to prosecute corrections officers Larry Hannan
