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In Florida, a "habitual felony offender" means a defendant for whom the court may impose an extended term of imprisonment. The defendant must have been convicted previously of any combination of two or more felonies in Florida. A "habitual violent felony offender" may be prosecuted under the law if the defendant has committed one or more violent felonies including rape, murder, aggravated assault and child abuse. Experts say one reason the habitualization laws were not used more often is because judges are aware of Florida's recent population explosion in its prison system. The prison population has more than doubled from 1990 to 1994, according to the state's statistical abstract data. "You only have so many people you can stick in jail," said UF law Professor Jon Mills, director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility. "You need to get the right ones before the federal government starts releasing them." No county or city population in Florida is growing as rapidly as its prison population, according to Department of Corrections statistics. Rep. Bob Casey, R-Gainesville said a new law passed in 1995, requiring inmates to serve a minimum of 85 percent of their sentences, also is contributing to the recent population explosion in the state prison system. Casey, a co-sponsor of the habitual offender bill amended in 1995, said the bill provided many loopholes for lawyers who handle habitual offenders' cases. "To me, prosecution under the habitual offender bill is not the same as in the three-strikes laws," Casey said. "It gives the state attorney an opportunity to operate under flexible guidelines." Assistant State Attorney Bill Cervone said judges were often willing to give defendants a break when they were under habitual offender prosecution. "The judges are not so strict about it. They could be talked out of habitual offender laws," Cervone said. One reason Mills gave for leniency was the consequence suffered by a defendant prosecuted under habitual offender laws. He said judges were aware that the purpose of the system was to rehabilitate, not eliminate. "Some of these criminals have to be punished," Mills said. "But the issue is probation -- judges should be free to give people a chance before we lose them permanently to the system." |
