Florida’s Department of Corrections will give judges criminal histories of defendants accused of violating probation, reports the Associated Press. The change is aimed at keeping suspects with lengthy rap sheets from being released.
The new policy is a response to the case of Carlie Brucia, the Sarasota 11-year-old who was abducted and strangled last month. The alleged killer, Joseph P. Smith, was free despite repeated probation violations.
The chairman of a legislative panel said the new policy won’t be enough. Sen. Alex Villalobos said probation officers need to resume advising judges on what should be done with violators they monitor. “If there’s some psycho out there that wants to kill someone, unless you’ve locked everybody up you can’t really prevent cases,” Villalobos said. “But you can sure make it a lot harder. And that, I guess, is the goal.”
Link: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/8148640.htm