Florida, one of the fastest-growing states and the third most populous in the country, is making significant shifts in its criminal justice policy. In January 2023, Florida announced a sweeping criminal justice package that included several changes to the state’s crime laws, from death penalty procedure to cracking down on illicit fentanyl. By spring of 2023, most of the proposed bills in that package had made their way through the state’s legislature and were signed into law.

An Overview of the Changes: New Death Penalty Laws

Like most states that still allow for the death penalty, Florida law previously required a unanimous jury vote for death before the court could impose a death sentence on an offender. On April 20th, a new law took place in Florida, allowing for the imposition of the death penalty when the jury recommends death by a vote of 8-4.¹

A few days later, on May 1st, another death penalty law passed, Florida’sallowing the death penalty to be imposed for certain sexual crimes committed against children, even if the victim did not die. This law also utilizes the 8-4 jury standard.

The shifts in Florida’s laws governing the death penalty now place Florida as the only state other than Alabama that allows a non-unanimous death penalty ruling. And in Alabama, a jury must vote at least 10-2 for death, compared to Florida’s 8-4, effectively making Florida the most lenient state regarding the death penalty.

An Overview of the Changes: Stricter Fentanyl Penalties

On May 1st, a new law was enacted in Florida that raised the mandatory minimum prison sentences for fentanyl trafficking in the state. As early as 2022, trafficking 4 to 14 grams of the highly potent drug carried a three-year minimum sentence, while trafficking 14 to 28 grams of fentanyl carried a 15-year minimum sentence. Now, trafficking the same amounts of fentanyl carries 7-year and 20-year minimum sentences, respectively.²

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The new law also includes special, significantly harsher provisions for those convicted of selling fentanyl or fentanyl analogues to minors. For example, an adult caught providing 4 grams of fentanyl to someone under 18 could face up to life in prison.

About ten times more potent than heroin and up to 50–100 times more potent than morphine, just 2 milligrams of fentanyl is enough to be fatal. Public health experts warn that even simply handling fentanyl puts first responders and others at risk for an overdose if they allow the drug to touch bare skin.

An Overview of the Changes: Drawing Back on Bail Reform

On May 1st, Florida’s HB 1527 law came into effect, rolling back bail reforms previously made in the state. Among other things, the new law does the following: “Requires the Florida Supreme Court to develop a uniform statewide bond schedule by the end of the year; prohibits the chief judge of a judicial circuit from setting a lower bond amount for a criminal offense than the uniform statewide bond schedule; authorizes the chief judge of a judicial circuit to set a higher bond amount for a criminal offense than the uniform statewide bond schedule; prohibits a person from being released before his or her first appearance if he or she has been arrested for a particularly violent or heinous crime; and authorizes a court to revoke pretrial release and order pretrial detention if a defendant violates a condition of pretrial release.” These changes are seen as an effort to make it easier to impose and maintain pretrial detention on those arrested.³

Better Resources for Offenders Are Needed

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Florida has the tenth-highest incarceration rate in the nation, ahead of Montana but behind Idaho. In terms of total persons incarcerated, the state has the third most prisoners, ahead of Georgia but behind California. Florida incarcerates about 444 people for every 100,000 living in the state, compared to the national incarceration rate of 350 for every 100,000.⁴

Image courtesy of BOP.gov

Despite the tough-on-crime approach, Florida has a high recidivism rate, meaning the rehabilitation modalities currently used in Florida’s prisons are not working as well as they should. According to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, about 25% of Florida prisoners go on to commit new crimes after their release, meaning Florida’s reform models are not working for one out of every four individuals who go through the state’s prison system.⁵

To ensure Floridians who break the law and become incarcerated experience real reform, Florida policymakers should pass new laws that implement educational programs in prison, including evidence-based reform approaches that help offenders get to the bottom of why they committed crimes in the first place. Further, Florida should implement life skills training, vocational courses, and re-entry programming to ensure offenders have the tools they need to be productive, responsible, contributing members of society once they rejoin the civilian world.

Florida’s new, tough-on-crime laws will only improve public safety for all Floridians if state leaders ensure that those who go through the prison system also receive the tools they need to live productive, crime-free lives following their release.

Sources Cited:

1. ABA. “Florida’s Multifaceted Expansion of the Death Penalty Raises Constitutional Concerns.” American Bar Association, 2023. americanbar.org
2. TBT. “Hillsborough Officials Say New Florida Law Will Help Fight Fentanyl Crisis.” Tampa Bay Times, 2023. tampabay.com
3. FLGov. “WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Hallmark Anti-Rioting Legislation Taking Unapologetic Stand for Public Safety.” Florida Governor, 2021. flgov.com
4. BJS. “Prisoners in 2020 – Statistical Tables.” Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2020. bjs.ojp.gov
5. BJA. “Publications.” Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2020. bja.ojp.gov