Criminal Sentencing and Punishment

Scott Rothstein Saga: Debra Villegas Goes to Prison; Four Enter Guilty Pleas

Scott W. Rothstein​The gifts of prison sentences keep coming, thanks to Scott Rothstein.Debra Villegas, the second in command for Rothstein's gigantic Ponzi scheme, surrendered to her new home at a minimum-security federal prison last week to begin her ten-year sentence.Villegas, now 44, pleaded g ... More >>

Famous Death Row Last Meals

He'll have the steak and eggs.​It seems a little strange that America treats criminals as well as it does.Yes, we lock them up in prisons with other burly men (or women) and let them out of their cells infrequently. And yes, there is the chance that they will be raped, shanked, or beaten to a pulp ... More >>

Krazy Locos Ruffians Combine for 237 Years Up the River

PBSOJonathan Gonzalez, leader of Krazy Locos.​Six members of Krazy Locos -- a Lake Worth-based gang -- were sentenced to prison time yesterday for a few crimes.By "few," we mean the U.S. Department of Justice's Southern District Office says the gang has engaged in murder, weapons trafficking, and ... More >>

Ryan LeVin Headed to the Slammer

Ryan LeVin​Brit-killing dunce Ryan LeVin is headed up the river for a bit, although unrelated to making roadkill out of two men with his Porsche.LeVin is scheduled to turn himself over to the cops in Chicago this morning due to a parole violation related to pummeling three other people with his ca ... More >>

Scott Rothstein Saga: Federal Prosecutors File Motion To Reduce 50-Year Prison Sentence

Scott Rothstein: Looking for his get-out-of-jail-free card​It turns out Fort Lauderdale's king Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein won't rot away in prison for 50 years after all.Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence LaVecchio filed a motion today to reduce Rothstein's prison sentence, although how much ... More >>

Florida Board of Medicine Allows Convicted Rapist To Keep Practicing As A Doctor

Florida Sexual Offenders and PredatorsMark Seldes, convicted rapist, M.D.​Apparently being a convicted rapist and practicing medicine have nothing to do with each other. At least that's what the Florida Board of Medicine decided.That's why 43-year-old Mark Seldes can continue to practice medicine ... More >>

Steve Gonot, Former Deerfield Beach Commissioner, Denied New Trial

Steve Gonot​Steve Gonot, the former Deerfield Beach Commissioner convicted in May of stealing campaign funds and misconduct charges, was denied a new trial this morning.Broward County Circuit Judge Barbara McCarthy denied Gonot's request, and maintained the scheduled sentencing for June 20.Gon ... More >>

Kids Claim Abuse and Violence at Juvenile Lockup Thompson Academy

Cell Phones in Prison: A Former Inmate Explains the Real Deal

flickr.com​A former long-serving federal inmate living in South Florida says the real reason for the proliferation of cell phones in prisons has more to do with privately owned institutions gouging inmates and their families with ridiculously overpriced phone time than it does organized crime.The ... More >>

Antonio Balta Got 20 Years for Leaving His Baby in a Hot Car. Was the Sentence Too Harsh?

Four Kids From South Florida Led the World's Biggest Online Identity Heist

Attorney Files Complaint for Hollywood Cop Shot in Head

Hernandez, on his feet a year after the shooting.​The wheels of justice often turn at an agonizingly slow pace. Two years after 29-year-old BSO officer Maury Hernandez was shot in the head by a felon on parole, his lawyer, Lance Block, sent the first formal complaint and two discovery requests to ... More >>

Inmate Dies in Broward Jail

No name, no age, no cause of death. All that Broward Sheriff's Office is reporting for the moment is that their deputies found an inmate dead in his cell at the main jail in Fort Lauderdale, around 7 p.m. The inmate had been in the cell alone. Here's the release. Stay tuned for more details, which w ... More >>

The Infamous Holland Correction

Okay, I say a couple nice things about departed Sun-Sentinel reporter John Holland and the knives start flying. The Holland haters bring up an eight-year-old correction which one commenter calls "the longest and most embarrassing front-page retraction in the Sun-Sentinel's history." I remember that ... More >>

Boca Private Prison Operator Feelin' Heat from West Texas

Not the riot in Pecos, but this is what one looks like. Perhaps the only thing harder to contain than a prison riot is the embarrassment that comes after a prison riot. But still. Boca Raton-based Geo Group has done a ham-handed job spinning the riot that broke out Saturday at a prison it owns ... More >>

Florida Inmates to Enjoy the Great Indoors

100,000 is one of those magic numbers. It's the summit of a classic Eighties game show. It's a milestone that reminds you to get that car tuned up. And if you're a state whose prison population has just reached that number, it means you're running out of room in the Big House, which in Florida's cas ... More >>

Broward County bail bondsmen want to kill pretrial intervention, and the County Commission is willing to help

Just Say Uncle

The DEA's "Twin Oceans" hooked a big fish, but can they reel it in?

Jah Cure Released from Prison Today

Onstage Culeros

It´s about the haughtiness of the band

Court Jesters

Dale Ross steps down as Broward County´s chief judge, but will anything really change?

You've Come A Long Way, Sparky

From Gitmo With Love

The elephant in Guantanamo's living room gets 4,200 calories a day and a Koran.

Muscles, Murder, and a Messiah, Part 2

Gil Fernandez Jr. could be responsible for as many as nine murders. If he's truly repentant, his former prosecutor says, he needs to confess his sins.

He Dunnit (No, He Dunnit!)

Michael Ray Roberts has avoided serious prison time by ratting out his partners. So far.

Various Artists

The Very Best of Death Row (Tha Row)

An Imperfect Murder

The sordid tale of a cunning Marielito, an ambitious ATF agent, and a dead mobster in Lighthouse Point

The Unlikely Lambs

Carandiru reveals the human side of Brazilian prisoners, then leads us to their slaughter

Crazy to Kill

In October 2002, they finally led Aileen Wuornos to where she wanted to go: the death chamber

Too Dumb to Die

Kevin Moore's case raises questions about executing the mentally disabled

Habitat for Inhumanity

The "asylums" depicted in The Magdalene Sisters undermine both the Catholic Church and the popular image of Ireland

Death Road

A 62-year-old convict was killed while working outside the slammer. BSO ain't talking about it.

Barred For Life

The process for restoring the civil rights of felons in Florida works perfectly -- if not restoring their rights is the goal

Twice Busted

A Pompano man and his family bum-rush a judge on sentencing day

A Family Affair

Wackenhut Corp.'s days as a South Florida firm are over, but its legacy lives on

Best Intention Gone Bad

The Chili Pepper's Plea

Dirty Work

A tale of prison gardeners is this summer's sweetest feel-good comedy

A Sorry Excuse

Ken Jenne's department helped convict the wrong man. Why won't he and Jeb Bush admit it?

A Single Hair

After a severely flawed trial, Michael Rivera was convicted of killing a little girl. New DNA evidence may help him.

A Devilish Deal

A high-profile judge long ago made a deal that freed the area's most heinous killer

Crowded Cage

Welcome to Broward's juvenile detention center, where inmates are wild, toilets are clogged, and employees are grousing

Undercurrents

Bob Norman sends the Broward County School Board bureaucrats scurrying

Love Behind Bars

When Albert Tacher met Dina Mora, he knew it was love. The problem? She was a prisoner, and he was a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy.

The Unforgiven

Bryant Troville served out his sentence for his sexually violent acts. His prospects for freedom? Not good.

Dead Head

Mr. Death

The Great Pretender

Jimmy Sabatino scammed millions of dollars' worth of goods and services by claiming he was a Hollywood player. But the self-described Mafia kid played too rough when he threatened to kill President Clinton.

Dead Man Waiting

Billy Elledge brutally raped and murdered a woman in Hollywood 25 years ago. He has sat in prison since then, evidence that Florida's death penalty isn't working.

Rapper's Demise

King Con Speaks

Escape artist Steven Russell fills in the details about how he bluffed his way out of prison and plotted his next big score

Forget Shorty, Get Marvin!

How novelist Elmore Leonard's friendship with Palm Beach County criminal judge Marvin Mounts led to a popular book and a new TV show