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Criminal Justice Reform and Policy in Florida

  The state of Florida has a complex and evolving penal system that is regularly subject to reforms and policy changes. The objective of these reforms is to promote a more effective, fair, and humane justice system. Analyzing these reforms provides insight into how they may influence the lives of prisoners, their families, as well as the work of researchers and law enforcement professionals. Summary of Recent and Ongoing Reforms in the Florida Penal System In recent years, Florida has implemented several criminal justice reform measures aimed at reducing prison populations, improving reentry outcomes, and ensuring fairer sentencing. Reforms have included the revision of mandatory minimum sentences, increased support for drug treatment programs, and expansion of eligibility for record expungement. These initiatives reflect a growing recognition of the importance of rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates into society.

Valerie Reyes was found packed into a suitcase in Connecticut on February 5

An ex-boyfriend has been arrested in connection to the killing of a woman whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase last week in Connecticut, police said. Queens resident Javier Da Silva was arrested in New York Monday, the Greenwich Police Department said in a press release Tuesday. He's charged with committing a "gruesome kidnapping" that resulted in the death of 24-year-old Valerie Reyes, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement Reyes was reported missing Jan. 30 to the New Rochelle Police Department by her family, according to court documents. Then on Feb. 5, a red suitcase in the Town of Greenwich was found by a public works employee who, on unzipping the suitcase, discovered the body of Reyes inside.

Aranda Briones, 16, went missing in Moreno Valley last month

Two brothers have been arrested on suspicion of killing 16-year-old Aranda Briones nearly a month after she disappeared in Moreno Valley, authorities said. Owen Skyler Shover, 18, and Gary Anthony Shover, 21, were booked on suspicion of murder after the Riverside County Sheriff’s SWAT team and homicide detectives arrested them about 10:30 p.m. Monday at their Hesperia home.

Suspect arrested in connection to Minneapolis double homicide

A 46-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murders of a mother and daughter at an apartment in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood of Minneapolis Saturday night. Eileen Mark, 67, and her daughter, Jennifer Angerhoffer, 42, were found dead of gunshot wounds at Mark's apartment in the Holmes Park Village apartment complex on the 300 block of 2nd Avenue Southeast around 10:30 p.m. Angerhoffer, who lived in Coon Rapids, had been visiting her mom at the time of the shooting. Neighbors heard the gunshots and called 911. The suspect was arrested around 9:30 p.m. Monday night several blocks away from the apartment building

Jan. 12, 1975

Two days into a week-and-a-half ski trip, Caryn Campbell left her fiance in the lobby of their Snowmass, Colorado, hotel, boarded an elevator and was last seen walking toward her second-floor room in search of a magazine. She didn't come back, and a few hours later, around 10:30 p.m., her fiance called the police. More than 100 people were interviewed, and local authorities and hotel staff scoured the lodge's 140 rooms. They peeked into elevator shafts and crawl spaces. Snowmass ski patrol combed the surrounding, snowy terrain.

Credit for good behavior

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Prisoners could get seven days of credit for good behavior each year of his or her sentence with this law – with the credits being deducted from the sentence to allow for early release. For example, an inmate serving a 10-year sentence who earns the maximum credits each year could be released 70 days early. This change could save $414 million in the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

New California murder law leads to inmate's early release

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A California judge, citing a new state law, overturned a prison inmate's murder conviction and ordered him released from custody on Friday. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Adnan Khan is believed to be the first California inmate to benefit from a new law limiting murder convictions exclusively to actual killers. Previously, accomplices and others indirectly involved in a homicide could be convicted of murder.

Death of 35-year-old Kary Dill

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Maine State Police have arrested a man in connection to the death of his girlfriend in the town of Clifton. Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland says police charged 37-year-old Dwight Osgood Jr. with murder Tuesday in the death of 35-year-old Kary Dill. Dill was found shot to death in the couple's home on Airline Road Monday morning.