Rev. R.B. Holmes

Your Turn

From all indications, Gov. DeSantis will sign Florida’s First Steps to Criminal Justice Reform adopted by the 2019 Legislature. This signing will be the first time in decades the Florida Legislature has taken meaningful steps to address long overdue criminal justice reform – to undo decades of bias, over-incarceration and unfair sentencing.

I applaud the Legislature and support the governor’s endorsement to move forward with this milestone legislation. We look forward to working with the 2020 Legislature to address several of the major provisions that did not make it in the final version.

This legislation will result in fewer families being torn apart or their lives being shattered. Incarceration affects more than just the person sentenced to jail or prison — it affects the entire family. Not only does the economic stability of that family decrease when the main provider is incarcerated, but often the children of those persons become disruptive in school, causing early truancy and eventual dropout. Unfortunately, 70% of those children too will occupy a jail or prison bed – it’s a vicious cycle.

Back story:

More:The First Step Act becomes the first step in criminal justice reform

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Faith groups must accept the challenge of reclaiming the lives of men, women, children and families of these offenders. They are our friends and neighbors, and need the support of the community to reduce the chances of them re-offending, thereby returning to jail or prison.

This legislation will also result in a greater emphasis on re-entry programs for offenders while incarcerated, as well as when they are released into the community. More opportunities will be made available for "returning citizens" to find employment with the support of businesses willing to offer another chance to our neighbors. This will enable these individuals to become law-abiding, taxpaying, productive citizens.

This legislation:

Reduces barriers for occupational licensing for felons.

Stops the automatic transferring of juveniles to adult court; it allows the state attorneys to decide whether juvenile cases should be transferred to adult court.

Authorizes the creation of community courts and expands eligibility for pretrial drug court.

Raises the threshold dollar amount at which grand and retail theft charges go from a misdemeanor to a felony, from $300 to $750 — a level that has not changed since 1984.

Eliminates or reduces the number of offenses that can result in driver’s license suspensions as a criminal penalty, unfairly hampering people’s ability to get to their jobs and continue to make an honest living.

The legislative session wasn't all good news. The Legislature "slowed down" implementation of Constitutional Amendment 4, which was adopted by nearly 65% of Florida voters and was intended to restore the voting rights of nearly 1.4 million ex-offenders. The implementation creates unjustified barriers to voting by requiring people with felony records to “pay all court fees, fines and restitution — all financial obligations” from their sentencing.

The Legislature did have the wisdom to allow the courts two options to excuse these costs: First, the judge, with the agreement of the victim of the crime, can dismiss the repayment requirement. Second, a judge can convert all fines, fees and restitution into community-service hours, enabling that person to have their voting rights restored after completing the community service.

I hope the judiciary will show compassion and allow those individuals who have repaid their debts to society a path to freedom – to exercising their constitutional right to vote.

Rev. R.B. Holmes, Jr., is pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church and the founder of the Bethel Ready4Work-Tallahassee Reentry Program. He can be reached at rbholmes2@gmail.com.