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State lawmakers are met in Tallahassee discussing the controversial Stand Your Ground Law. Part of the discussion is about altering the 10-20-life law so someone can protect themselves with a gun without using deadly force.

It’s been an ongoing argument in Florida – shoot to kill or shoot to warn? The choice may allow you to walk free or spend years behind bars at a state prison.

“We don’t want laws to tell society that you shoot and kill somebody to make sure you don’t have to go to jail because a dead man can’t talk,” said Ben Crump, Trayvon Martin family attorney.

The consequences of firing but not killing came to light in the case of Marissa Alexander, the Jacksonville woman who fired a warning shot at her husband and got 20 years in prison.

Currently, if you pull a gun, it’s a mandatory ten years in prison, if you fire it and its 20 years.

Based on the Alexander case, a Governor’s task force recommended changing the law. State Representative Neil Combee says there should by a way to protect yourself without killing someone.

“Shoot to kill is a bad idea. I think that most people, I think its human nature most people don’t want to shoot anybody,” said Representative Combee.

State prosecutors don’t want the 10-20-Life law changed, but police agencies are open to change.

“20 years for people who really haven’t physically harmed anybody, you start thinking man we need to find a way from preventing this from happening,” said Representative Combee.

A Senate Committee has already passed minor changes to Stand Your Ground, but it did not address 10-20-life changes.

The showdown over changing the highly controversial Stand Your Ground law is set to go before a House Committee Thursday.

When the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee takes up changes to Stand Your Ground Thursday afternoon, the committee will be led by Rep. Matt Gaetz. He has already said he wants no changes to the law at all.

“I support the Stand Your Ground law as it is. You know, I’m open-minded. If people have meaningful reforms that they can offer that will keep the people of our state safe I’m eager to hear those reforms,” said Representative Matt Gaetz, (R) Ft. Walton Beach.

The predisposition worries Democrats. They say some changes to Stand Your Ground are needed, now.

”You got House members, you got Senators from all across the state, they’re all agreeing to this then why is it you will or will not accept the amendments,” said Representative Perry Thurston, Jr., (D) Ft. Lauderdale.

Stand Your Ground support doesn’t follow party lines. Republican Representative Ray Pilon says he would support changes that help improve the law.

“When we got down to doing business that the legislature does we always look to improve situations, not make them worse,” said Pilon.

Florida’s Stand Your Ground law was the first of its kind to pass in the country in 2005. Depending on what happens next session, it could be one of the first to have any reforms to the current law.

A poll earlier this year shows more than half of Floridians support Stand Your Ground.

“I think there will be discussions on both sides of the issue,” said Pilon.

A Senate Committee has already approved minor changes to the law. Their intent: not to allow an aggressor to start a fight and then claim self defense.

Before two murderers walked free using forged documents, the scam had been tried 5 other times. Now, as Mike Vasilinda tells us, state lawmakers are applauding changes to release policies but asking if officials should have seen the writing on the wall.

When murders Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker were released from prison on forged documents in September and October, police were already actively investigating another failed escape attempt. FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey told lawmakers that Jeffrey Forbes was caught in May trying to use forged paperwork. “Documents were actually generated, constructed within the walls of the prison,” says Gerald Bailey, FDLE Commissioner.

Lawmakers listened to police, corrections officials, court clerks, and the judge whose signature was forged. “Was lifted off some orders that I entered in the case of the State of Florida Vs. Casey Anthony,” says Judge Belvin Perry, Chief Judge.

The bottom line is that the officials knew there had been an attempt to use fraudulent documents before the escapes and did nothing to change their system.

Afterwards Judge Belvin Perry was grilled over why steps weren’t taken by the court and clerk in Orange County when police began investigating Jeffery Forbes’ attempt to use forged documents. “We all would like to go back with hindsight and try to do things differently,” says Judge Perry.

There are also questions over how the two men who escaped were able to make their plans from inside prison using forbidden cell phones. Prison Chief Crews says it is a big and continuing problem. “We know we got a few dirty officers, I want you to keep in mind, that’s a very, very, very small percent,” says Michael Crews, correction secretary.

A smuggled cell phone could bring up to 6 hundred dollars, 41 hundred have been seized since January.

State lawmakers are demanding answers from the Department of Children and Families after the deaths of 25 children. Lawmakers say DCF didn’t have answers.

For three hours Tuesday morning – lawmakers demanded answers on how to keep Florida’s children from troubled homes safe.

“The purpose of the meeting is that we’re very upset about all of these deaths,”
said Senator Nancy Detert. “We want to know what the problem is.”

So far this year – 25 children have died under state supervision.

“This is a top priority for the governor and obviously DCF in making sure children are safe,” said Esther Jacobo.

Department of Children and Families Interim Secretary Esther Jacobo says the office has been working to improve her agencies supervision.

“What I can assure everyone is that we are working toward making the system better. That we are putting in safeguards,” she said.

But, Senator Eleanor Sobel says lawmakers are unsure of what is being done… DCF had few answers during Tuesday’s meeting.

“I expected her to gather some of that information and funnel it down and have some answers for us and guidance for us today and I wasn’t hearing it,” said Sobel.

“I’m very confident that with the kind of information that we now have and with the kind of analysis we are going to get what we need,” said Jacobo.

An October report reviewed the deaths of children under DCF’s watch. Looking for what went wrong and why. Lawmakers say they will go through the information to decide what needs fixing.

No legislation is likely to be proposed until early next year.

The agency that handles unemployment claims is on the hot seat before three legislative committees this week. The agency has had trouble answering calls and processing claims since it unveiled a new computer system three weeks ago, and although getting better, the problems are likely to persist for weeks.

Since launching a new unemployment compensation computer system October 15th, the Department of Economic Opportunity has gone from answering about one in three calls to its trouble shooing hot line to just over half the calls coming in. The problems processing claims is making lawmakers impatient. “Director we spent a lot of money to achieve basically almost the same results as a 30 year old system and people are upset,” says Rep. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater.

Contractor Deloitte told the House committee that Florida poised unique problems because of fifteen hundred special requirements. “We’re catching half of the cost, more or less, in week three, is that correct?” Asked Rep. Ed Hooper.

“That’s what depicted on this slide, yes sir,” said Jennifer Blume, Senior VP Deloitte.

“That is not uniquely improved. That’s substandard at best,” says Rep. Ed Hooper.

Lawmakers did not get the whole story. The agency inadvertently leaked social security numbers for about four dozen people.

Executive Director Jesse Panuccio called it a technical glitch that has been fixed. “That’s something in the computer system was encoded incorrectly and resulted in an inverted disclosure,” says Jesse Panuccio, DEO Exec. Dir.

In 2012 the agency assessed a four and half million dollar penalty against Deloitte, it says fines remain an option going forward.

Last week the agency got just over 132 thousand unique calls about problems. By the agencies own numbers 63 thousand went unanswered.

 

Less than a month after two killers were fraudulently released from a prison in the Panhandle – lawmakers are now demanding answers. The state is looking to see if more inmates have been released by mistake.

A month ago – Floridians were on high alert after two convicted killers were mistakenly released from a prison in the Panhandle because of forged release forms.

“It sounds like a big mistake,” said James Hahl in October. “It’s just not right.”

Now lawmakers like Senator Rob Bradley want answers behind the big mistake.

“I will tell you one thing,” said Senator Rob Bradley. “It is embarrassing for all of those who were involved because it’s unacceptable.”

Monday afternoon officials with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Clerk of Courts and Department of Corrections were meeting with lawmakers. Corrections Secretary Michael Crews says they are working to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

“We’ve got to make sure that we’re all working collectively together; because ultimately, this was a public safety issue,” said Michael Crews, Department of Corrections Secretary.

D-O-C has 40 people across Florida looking to make sure are not any other fraudulent escape cases. After the release D-O-C enacted a new rules to make sure felons do not wrongfully walk away from state prisons.

“Before we release any inmate – that we will ask the judge to authenticate that order was valid,” said Crews.

Several hearings are scheduled this week. Lawmakers say they’re going to keep asking the tough questions – because at the end of the day they say the escape was a public safety issue.

“We in the Florida Senate are particularly outraged about what occurred and that is why we’re having these hearings,” said Bradley.

Lawmakers say after the meetings they will be able to gauge what all needs to be enacted to prevent a similar situation.

The Clerk of Courts is also reviewing their processes and FDLE is still investigating the wrongful release from October.

Florida’s 44th Governor announced today he wants to be its 46th Governor. Republican turned Democrat Charlie Crist won the job in 12006, left in 2011 and is running again as a Democrat. It didn’t take Republicans long to come out fighting.

As former Republican Charlie Crist was finishing up his morning announcement that he was running against the Governor, “Yea I’m running as a Democrat,” says former Governor, Charlie Crist.

The state GOP was circulating an email with a new web site and TV ad bashing the former GOP Governor. Rick Scott TV Spot says, “Democrat Alex Sink says he failed to lay out a business plan to get Florida out of its worst recession.”

Governor Rick Scott has been laying the ground work for the attack for months, blaming Crist for the economic downturn and taking credit for making the economy better. “We shouldn’t have a downturn, we shouldn’t have lost those 832 thousand jobs before I became governor,” says Governor Rick Scott on June 14, 2013.

GOP consultant Rick Wilson has worked on Crist campaigns before. “Under Charlie Crist we had record foreclosure rates, we had record unemployment rates and Rick Scott has helped clean up the mess that Charlie Crist made,” says Rick Wilson, GOP Consultant.

State Senator John Thrasher replaced Crist’s handpicked GOP chairman after financial irregularities were uncovered.  “Charlie Crist left us, he didn’t handle his problems,” says Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine.

Republicans are putting a half million dollars behind that ad, virtually nothing in a state the size of Florida, the point is to let everyone know they are going to attack.

Democrats say the early attacks may actually help convince a skeptical Democratic base that Crist is now one of them. “Think that’s going to help him in some sense within the Democratic party is that ‘why are the republicans so scared? Why are they attacking so hard,'” says Screven Watson, Democratic Consultant.

Rick Scott has vowed to spend a hundred million dollars to be re-elected.

In what may be the worst kept secret in Florida politics, former Governor Charlie Crist has filed paper work with the state to run for Governor in 2014 as a Democrat. Crist had previously scheduled a “Major Announcement” for ten am Monday in St. Petersburg. The Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry responded with this statement: “Charlie Crist has now officially filed to run for the position he once abandoned. When Florida needed Charlie Crist the most during difficult economic times, he ran away. If he really wants to be Governor now, why did he quit the first time?” 

 

 

The State of Florida will be spotlighted this weekend for one of the biggest college football games of the year.

Football fans are packing Tallahassee for one of the biggest college games of the season.

“Oh, it’s huge,” said Elliot Waterbury, FSU Senior. “Miami is always a big rivalry.”

Undefeated in-state rivals Florida State and Miami are meeting for more than bragging rights, a national title could be at stake this year. The hype surrounding the game is bringing people to Florida from all over the country – along with millions of dollars.

“We’ve been traveling for the last ten years with them and this is a great rivalry,” said Tom Parry, who traveled from Pennsylvania to watch the game.

Police will be busy. This game traditionally has the highest number of ejections, and one of the highest numbers of people arrested.

“When you get that many people packed into such an emotional atmosphere, sometimes people go a little too far,” said James Russell, FSU PD Deputy Chief of Police.

FSU is expecting 4-million dollars in ticket sales alone.

But, the game is expected to be a win-win for the entire state. ”Whether the game is here in Tallahassee or Miami or wherever its being hosted in Florida it will have a impact on the bottom line of the state’s economy,” said Carol Dover, CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

With millions coming into the state economy – FSU athletic director Stan Wilcox says the whole economic impact of the game will not felt until after it ends.

“For FSU – just from an advertising, just from notoriety perspective, you can’t even quantify it,” said Wilcox.

Hotels have been sold out for weeks.

If you’re trying to get tickets to the game, you’re out of luck – because the game is sold out.

The sheriff of rural Liberty County was acquitted this week of falsifying a document  in a gun arrest, and the case is a window into the likely outcome of a hearing next week on the stand your ground law.

Liberty county, population just over eight thousand is Florida’s smallest county. It’s name inspired from our founding fathers. Guns here are a way of life.

Reporter asked, “Do you own a gun?”

Jody Bunkley replied, “Mhmm”

“Do you hunt and fish?”

“Yup,” said Bunkley

“Do you know anyone that doesn’t own a gun?”

“Not around here, Mayo anyway,” says Bunkley

In June, state police arrested liberty county’s sheriff after he set a man free who been arrested by a deputy for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

When prosecutors here asked a jury pool two dozen, how many of you own a gun? Virtually every hand in the room went up.

Thursday, Sheriff  Nick Finch was acquitted. He’s already back on the job. “I think that in this case, you know, second amendment issues are important, and I believe in the second amendment. I think that, you know, people do have the right to keep, bare arms,” says Nick Finch, Liberty County Sheriff.

Next week state lawmakers hold a stand your ground hearing. The committee chairman represents  the western Panhandle. He’s already vowed not to change even a comma in the law.

Harold Revell was sheriff here for 24 years, which means he knows his voters. “I didn’t worry about people carrying a gun, if you need it you got it,” says Harold Revell, Former Sheriff.

As for the sheriff Nick Finch, he thinks stand your ground has been misused, but “I’m a supporter in the Stand your ground law,” says Finch.

And the people who elected Finch agree, right down to the jury that concluded the second amendment is as much as a way of life in this rural part of the state as anything else.