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12News: Broward Co. (FL) to vacate convictions for people who bought crack made by the Sheriff's Office [View all]
12News - Broward Co. to vacate convictions for people who bought crack made by the Sheriff's Office
by Nick VivianiFri, December 6th 2024 at 4:55 PM
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CBS12) — For three years, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office produced its own crack cocaine, so it could sell it to people that deputies would then arrest for buying crack cocaine.
It was a practice the Florida state Supreme Court repeatedly described as “outrageous” in its 1993 ruling that such reverse-stings violated an individual’s right to due process. More than 30 years later, though, a routine audit of documents found hundreds of those arrests and convictions are still on the books and part of people’s criminal records.
On Friday, the State Attorney for Broward County Harold Pryor announced his office planned to do something about that, declaring, “it is never too late to do the right thing.”
“These records may be a dim memory or an unfortunate part of history to many, but they have had a long-lasting and severe impact on the lives of the people who were arrested – as well as their families and the wider community,” Pryor added.
The State Attorney’s Office explained that despite the Supreme Court’s decision, many of the cases were never vacated. That means they could still weigh on the lives of those prosecuted under the unconstitutional program, affecting their ability to get a job, find a home, or appearing in criminal history checks.
/snip
by Nick VivianiFri, December 6th 2024 at 4:55 PM
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CBS12) — For three years, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office produced its own crack cocaine, so it could sell it to people that deputies would then arrest for buying crack cocaine.
It was a practice the Florida state Supreme Court repeatedly described as “outrageous” in its 1993 ruling that such reverse-stings violated an individual’s right to due process. More than 30 years later, though, a routine audit of documents found hundreds of those arrests and convictions are still on the books and part of people’s criminal records.
On Friday, the State Attorney for Broward County Harold Pryor announced his office planned to do something about that, declaring, “it is never too late to do the right thing.”
“These records may be a dim memory or an unfortunate part of history to many, but they have had a long-lasting and severe impact on the lives of the people who were arrested – as well as their families and the wider community,” Pryor added.
The State Attorney’s Office explained that despite the Supreme Court’s decision, many of the cases were never vacated. That means they could still weigh on the lives of those prosecuted under the unconstitutional program, affecting their ability to get a job, find a home, or appearing in criminal history checks.
/snip