Latest news with #SenateBill168
CBS News
13-04-2025
- CBS News
Tristin Murphy Act passes the Florida Senate
Florida legislators unanimously passed Senate Bill 168 - the Tristin Murphy Act . It is designed to reform how mentally ill people like Tristin Murphy are treated in the state's criminal justice system by offering them treatment rather than prison. Tristin Murphy was a 37-year-old schizophrenic when he was sent to a prison on a littering charge. A little more than a month later he killed himself with a chainsaw. Since his death his mother has been fighting for change. Following his death, CBS News Miami launched a two-year investigation into the events that led to that fateful day. Our investigation revealed how police, prosecutors, judges, jailers, and prison officials moved Tristin through the criminal justice system without ever truly addressing his underlying mental problems. Murphy's story was chronicled in the 2023 CBS Miami documentary, Warehoused: The Life and Death of Tristin Murphy . The documentary caught the attention of legislators, most notably Senate President Ben Albritton, who made mental health reform among his top priorities this year. And we discovered Tristin's case is not unique as jails and prisons are being overwhelmed with an ever growing mentally ill population. "Humanity gets the credit for this," Albritton said before the vote, "not any individual, because this bill will save lives. It's going to change the trajectory for people in Florida that don't even know it yet. It's going to make our system stronger."
CBS News
09-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Florida Senate approves criminal justice bill created in aftermath of CBS Miami's "Warehoused" documentary
The Florida Senate, in a unanimous vote, passed the Tristin Murphy Act on Thursday which will transform the way people with mental health issues are detained for most non-violent offenses. The bill is the direct result of the 2023 CBS News Miami documentary "Warehoused: The Life and Death of Tristin Murphy." Senate President Ben Albritton said this bill will have a profound effect across South Florida. "Humanity gets the credit for this one, not any particular individual, because this bill will save lives. It's going to change the trajectory for people in Florida who don't even know it yet. It's going to make our system stronger, it's going to make our system more focused on outcomes. This is a big deal y'all," he said. Murphy, 37, who suffered from schizophrenia and paranoia, was sent to prison on a loitering charge. On Sept. 16, 2021, Murphy, who had attempted suicide in the past, killed himself with a chainsaw while on a work detail at a state prison just west of Miami. A two year investigation by CBS News Miami into the events that led to his death revealed how police, prosecutors, judges, jailers, and prison officials moved Tristin through the criminal justice system without ever truly addressing his underlying mental problems. Murphy's mother Cindy has been advocating for changes to prevent similar tragedies from happening again. As a result, State Sen. Jennifer Bradley (R- 6th District) introduced Senate Bill 168 — the " Tristin Murphy Act " — to provide treatment instead of prison for mentally ill individuals. "Facing South Florida" spoke with Bradley about the details of the bill and what she is hoping to accomplish with this legislation. The bill aims to offer diversion plans, better training and community resources, similar to Miami-Dade County Judge Steve Liefman's successful program in Miami. It will create a model diversion plan for misdemeanors and felonies, linking mental health treatment to probation and ensuring follow-through. The bill also addresses the shortage of forensic beds and provides grant money for training without requiring a match from fiscally constrained counties. Jim DeFede contributed to this report.
CBS News
09-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
The Tristin Murphy Act
THE TRISTIN MURPHY ACT This week Florida legislators convened their annual 60-day session and one of the very first bills they took up was Senate Bill 168 – the Tristin Murphy Act. It is a major development in the aftermath of our CBS News Miami documentary "Warehoused: The Life and Death of Tristin Murphy." The President of the Florida Senate is making passage of the bill a priority. It is designed to reform how mentally ill people like Tristin are treated in the state's criminal justice system by offering them treatment rather than prison. Tristin killed himself violently, during a prison work detail. Jim takes us inside the bill's first hearing in front of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, where a variety of law enforcement officials and state politicians testified. Tristin's mother Cindee, who has been fighting tirelessly to get the bill before legislators, was also at the hearing. She was accompanied by her grandson and Tristin's son Cody. Cindee left the room speechless when she read a letter that Cody had written.
CBS News
27-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Tristin Murphy Act introduced, designed to fix problems exposed in CBS Miami documentary
The Florida Legislature is considering wide-ranging changes to how the criminal justice system deals with the mentally ill, improving diversion programs that will stress treatment over imprisonment. The legislation, Senate Bill 168, also known as the Tristin Murphy Act, was named after the 37-year-old father of two who killed himself in prison with a chainsaw. Murphy, who was incarcerated on a littering charge, had a well-documented history of schizophrenia and had been deemed incompetent to stand trial on several occasions. Murphy's case was chronicled in the 2023 CBS Miami documentary, "Warehoused: The Life and Death of Tristin Murphy." Senate President Ben Albritton credited the documentary and his subsequent meetings with Tristin's parents, Cindee and Dennis, for making this legislation one of his highest priorities. "Tristin was a young father with supportive, loving parents and a bright future ahead of him. He was not a hardened criminal. He was sick and needed help to address serious mental health challenges," Albritton said. "Tristin's parents have been so brave to tell his story and advocate for improvements to the way offenders with a mental health challenge are treated within the criminal justice system. Learning about Tristin's story and spending time with his parents, Cindee and Dennis, had a tremendous impact on me. We are proud to move this bill forward with their support." The bill is sponsored by State Senator Jennifer Bradley, who held a special hearing during last year's legislative session to explore what happened to Tristin and the larger problem of mentally ill individuals being held – warehoused – in local jails without treatment. In Tristin's case, he was held in an isolation cell in the Charlotte County Jail for more than 570 days because the state did not have the facilities to treat his schizophrenia. "We know certain defendants who have a mental illness, intellectual disability or autism would be better served through community services rather than jail time," Bradley said in a statement. "There is more we can do to support law enforcement agencies who offer crisis intervention training and diversion for offenders with a mental health challenge. If someone commits a serious, violent crime, they need to be incarcerated for public safety. This bill provides a different path for less serious crimes where the defendant, their family, and the community would be better served by allowing the defendant to receive the necessary mental health treatment." Cindee Murphy told CBS Miami she was glad legislators were working to try and prevent what happened to her son doesn't happen again. The bill addresses several problems exposed in the CBS documentary. In Tristin's case, he would be restored to competency and released on probation. But while the terms of his probation prevented him from drinking, it did not require him to continue counseling or staying on his medications. The bill requires a defendant who was found incompetent and later regains competency to have a mental health evaluation and follow recommendations if they are sentenced to probation. In Tristin's case, when he arrived at the state prison in Miami, he never received the proper evaluation, treatment, or medication for his schizophrenia from the prison's medical staff. Instead, he was cleared for a working detail on the ground's crew, where he was given the chainsaw he used to take his own life. The bill requires the Department of Corrections to evaluate the physical and mental health of each inmate eligible for work assignments or a correctional work program. One of the biggest failings in Tristin's case was the failure to divert him out of the criminal justice system and instead send him to a mental health court, where he could have received treatment. The bill would expand several pilot programs—including the one in Miami Dade County—to other parts of the state. The bill also gives prosecutors greater leeway in diverting mentally ill individuals. In an interview with CBS Miami, Senator Bradley said she believes this bill will have the support of her colleagues. "I'm hoping it brings some comfort to families who have loved ones with mental illness, who worry every day that their loved one is going to have an interaction with the criminal justice system that brings them into the deep end of the system," she said. "What this bill does is it provides some off ramps. It provides treatment. It provides better training and funding in communities through the state. And the hope is that we provide some options and alternatives in the system to avoid the tragedy that Tristin Murphy experienced from happening to other families."
CBS News
10-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Proposed Maryland bill would prevent dredged material from being stored in overburdened communities
BALTIMORE -- Maryland lawmakers have proposed a bill that could prevent the state's port administration from storing dredged material from the Baltimore Harbor in already overburdened communities. In June 2024, Anne Arundel County residents complained about the environmental impacts of the Maryland Port Administration's planned confined aquatic disposal project. Residents say this proposed bill is needed to protect their waterways for decades. "We're very concerned about that being dumped into the water, right near our homes," said Stoney Beach resident John Garofolo. What would the proposed bill accomplish? Senate Bill 168 – the Environmental Justice in Confined Aquatic Disposal Act – aims to prevent the construction of confined aquatic disposal (CAD) cells within five miles of a residential overburdened community. "The state and other businesses keep dumping environmentally contaminated material in their area, and this would protect them from that," said Sen. Bryan Simonaire. Sen. Simonaire sponsored the bill after residents expressed concern about the port administration's plan to build a CAD cell on the Patapsco River less than a mile from their homes. "The communities that are overburdened already don't want to be the testbed for the state to see if it's going to work or what kind of adverse environmental impact it'll be," Simonaire said. If passed, the bill would go into effect on October 1, 2025. What is CAD? CAD involves digging a hole on the river floor in order to store the hazardous dredged material from the Baltimore harbor. Garofolo, and other residents, fear this would bring more contaminants to their already overburdened community, after decades of pollution from surrounding industries. Garofolo testified in favor of the bill at the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee hearing on Jan. 28. "The existing pollution has had overwhelming impacts to our health, employment and businesses, the Patapsco is not a resource to be exploited nor are its communities," Garofolo said. Life-long Pasadena resident and boater Carl Treff also testified. "As a resident, a recreationalist, an environmental steward of the Patapsco River, I cannot fathom in this era of bay restoration, how mining and destroying the bottom of our river is a good idea," Treff said. MPA provided the following statement to WJZ: "The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) is currently facilitating the state's evaluation of a dredged sediment management option known as confined aquatic disposal under the statutory framework of the state's Dredged Material Management Program created by the Maryland General Assembly." "The evaluation of contained aquatic disposal is an ongoing process that will continue to involve a comprehensive subcommittee formed by the MPA that includes outside stakeholders including local communities." "Part of this process is to fully understand the complete technical, environmental, socioeconomic, and community impacts of confined aquatic disposal. Prioritizing environmental justice is a core component of the subcommittee's focus." "We understand the concerns that have been raised and will make sure that as the process continues, it does so while continuing to be transparent and inclusive. We believe that a ban as proposed in this bill is premature, and circumvents the important work being done by the subcommittee."
