“The Florida Senate is drafting an ambitious package of bills that will reform the state’s sentencing laws to give judges more flexibility, provide more productive alternatives for low-level drug offenders, and ultimately reduce Florida’s prison population.
“The Senate Criminal Justice Committee conducted a two-hour workshop Tuesday on its 10 proposals, hearing from representatives of both public defenders and prosecutors.
“The state has enacted 108 minimum mandatory sentencing laws over the last 30 years, ranging from five years in jail to life imprisonment. Each law reduces the flexibility a judge has and increases the power of prosecutors, who have the ability to determine what crime to charge a suspect with.”