Andrew Powell
A new measure would give family members of murder victims a second crack at finding a perpetrator in cold cases across the state.
Tamarac Democrat Sen. Rosalind Osgood filed legislation (SB 694) named “The Decker Act,” which would outline the procedures for reviewing and reinvestigating these cases.
A cold case is defined in the bill as a murder that has not had any perpetrators identified for at least five years after the murder was committed, with law enforcement investigations completed and all probative leads exhausted.
Law enforcement agencies would be required to review any cold case upon receiving a written application from a family member or legal representative. The review would need to determine if a full investigation would result in any new leads that could identify a likely suspect.
If the review of the cold case concludes that a reinvestigation could result in new leads and the identity of a perpetrator, a full investigation would need to be conducted, including the analysis of new evidence, interviewing witnesses and updating the case file.
The bill would require that law enforcement agencies develop written applications for review requests and adopt new procedures to ensure compliance, while providing training to appropriate employees.
Law enforcement agencies must further confirm they have received applications and report any data to the Global Forensic and Justice Center located at the Florida International University. The center would maintain a case tracking system and public website with information on cold case investigations.
This would include the number of written applications for cold case reviews filed with each law enforcement agency, the number of full reinvestigations initiated and closed, the total number of cases in which the time for review is extended, and statistical information on the number of cold cases, defendants, arrests, indictments and convictions.
If the cold case was initially investigated by multiple agencies, those agencies would be required to coordinate with each other to review the case files or launch a reinvestigation. These agencies would further be able to request investigative assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Funding is subject to appropriations and would apply to cold cases that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 1970. If passed, the act would come into effect on July 1, 2026.
