GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With Florida making it easier for juries to impose the death sentence, two formerly condemned inmates who are still behind bars are warning that the change gives too much power over life and death to elected prosecutors. Their concerns are at odds with some families of murder …
Read More »After family murders, suicide, Florida nears passage of bill to shield kids’ autopsy details
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Nearly two years after both her sons were killed by her estranged husband, a surviving mother is picking up the pieces of her life to move forward as untold storylines about the murders are just emerging. Minde O’Sullivan, 44, of Gainesville said her new marriage to the …
Read More »Florida Highway Patrol asks for the public’s help in Marion County hit-and-run investigation
Florida Highway Patrol is asking for the public’s help searching for the silver Chevrolet Suburban involved in a Marion County hit-and-run incident last week. On Wednesday night, along NE 31st Street, a bicyclist was traveling west across NE Jacksonville Road as the car was driving south down the same road. …
Read More »Lawmakers propose making it easier to impose death penalty in Florida
After a jury couldn’t agree on the death penalty in Florida’s deadliest school shooting, Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee are proposing to make it easier to send condemned convicts to death row. The changes – which would allow a jury to recommend the death penalty even when only eight of 12 …
Read More »Legal drama in Florida Supreme Court hearing whether police names can be kept secret in deadly shootings
Florida’s Supreme Court on Wednesday wrestled during a hearing in Tallahassee over questions about whether a new law protecting the rights of crime victims can be used to keep secret the identities of police officers who kill a suspect in the line of duty. The immediate case involved separate, fatal …
Read More »Legal question: Are police officers victims when they shoot someone in line of duty?
The Florida Supreme Court will consider arguments Wednesday in Tallahassee in a case that considers whether the identities of police officers who kill civilians in violent encounters can be withheld from the public. Law enforcement is among one of the only civilian professions in which the use of deadly force …
Read More »Gainesville police locate car involved in Monday’s fatal hit-and-run
The Gainesville Police Department, working with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, located Wednesday night the vehicle wanted for Monday morning’s fatal hit-and-run incident, according to a news release from the police department. Police did not make an arrest after finding the car and are still collecting evidence for a criminal …
Read More »See who won Florida’s 2022 state House and Senate seats
Florida House Yvonne Hayes Hinson vs. Hollye Merton Winning close to two-thirds of the vote, Yvonne Hayes Hinson glided into her second term as a state House representative, this time for District 21. In keeping incumbent Yvonne Hayes Hinson, a majority of voters chose to advocate for more liberal policies, …
Read More »See who won Dixie, Gilchrist and Lafayette counties’ 2022 midterm elections
Dixie County Commissioner District 2 Daniel Wood III vs. Jaffry Crawl vs. Keith Tuten Daniel Wood III won the Dixie County Commissioner District 2 seat with 65% of the votes. The current District 2 commissioner, W.C. Mills, is stepping down. Daniel Wood III fundraised the most of the three candidates …
Read More »See who won Citrus and Hernanado counties’ 2022 midterm elections
Citrus County School Board District 5 Joseph “Joe” Faherty vs. Linda Powers Joe Faherty collected 57% of the vote, making him the Citrus County School Board District 5 member. Incumbent Powers has 39 years of experience in education, working as a teacher at the elementary, middle, high school and community …
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