Associated Press
The Florida House is poised to approve a bill that would conceal the identities of those who have witnessed a murder from public records.
House members prepared the bill for a final vote on Wednesday after the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Cynthia Stafford, said it would encourage murder witnesses to come forward and bring perpetrators to justice. If passed, the bill would keep witnesses’ personal information confidential for two years after the murder occurred.
The Florida First Amendment Foundation has scrutinized the effort, saying it would prevent the public from obtaining all the information in murder cases. While the information of a witness would be concealed in the discovery given to a suspect in the case, investigating agencies and prosecutors would still have access to it.
Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
One comment
Dan
March 30, 2017 at 3:10 pm
The Accused person has the RIGHT to face their accuser and their council has the right to all presumed evidence, innuendo and assumptions as well as cross examine each and every statement to ensure their are no nefarious purposes to bear false witness. Anonymous witnesses have no reliance or legitimacy not even if a judge, prosecutor or legislator may wish to bypass the individual’s rights.
Comments are closed.