Get tough in Florida has traditionally meant, ignore constitutional rights; read carefully!11-16-2013 Florida:
They would act on Sheriff Rutherford's advice
Florida lawmakers are likely to consider ways to toughen laws against suspected violent sex offenders in the wake of Donald Smith’s arrest in 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle’s abduction and death.
Convicted of sex crimes, Smith was released from prison less than a month before the arrest in the Perrywinkle case.
Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford recommended several changes Wednesday when he met with top-level legislators in Jacksonville.
State Senate President Don Gaetz and Speaker of the House Will Weatherford visited the Sheriff’s Office and said both the House and the Senate plan to introduce bills next March to toughen the law.
State Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, and Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, also spoke about what should be done to close loopholes in current law.
Rutherford said police should be involved during the evaluation process when convicted or suspected sex offenders’ commitment to a mental hospital is possible. He said police reports about the person’s behavior the day of arrest should be used during those evaluations.
He said the charging documents from the State Attorney’s Offices are used, but prosecutors write those documents based on what they think can be proved in a court of law.
“Sometimes there are issues inside [the police reports] that never make it into a charging document,” he said. “… If you are only looking at the state attorney’s charging document, you are going to lose a lot of valuable information about this individual’s behavior on the street at the time they are arrested.” ..Continued.. by Derek Gilliam
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