Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Associated PressMarch 30, 2017

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 […]

Larry GriffinJanuary 19, 2017

Murder suspect Markeith Loyd appeared in court early Thursday morning for an arraignment hearing, at which he went on a profanity-laced rant aimed at the accusations against him. The judge has also ordered Loyd held without bond. According to the Ninth Judicial Circuit State’s Attorney’s office, Loyd does not yet have an attorney representing him. […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 15, 2016

A weekend of gunplay in Jacksonville, with multiple murders, found its sorriest lowlight with the killing of an infant near the Cleveland Arms apartment complex Sunday. On Tuesday morning, the Baptist Ministers Alliance held a presser at that complex, addressing the murders over the weekend. Cleveland Arms is no stranger to violence or community demonstrations after […]

Associated PressOctober 22, 2016

Attorney General Pam Bondi, warning that murder trials across the state could be placed in limbo, has asked the Florida Supreme Court to clarify a sweeping death penalty ruling it handed down last week. In two linked cases, the court first concluded that death sentences must require a unanimous jury and then struck down a […]

Jim RosicaJune 15, 2016

The liquid left over from making methamphetamine can be counted toward its weight for criminal charging purposes, an appellate court has ruled. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal issued its unanimous opinion Wednesday in the case of Ryan Wilder. He was convicted on murder and methamphetamine trafficking charges following a February 2012 drug bust […]

Scott PowersFebruary 2, 2016

The Libertarian Party of Florida’s candidate for the U.S. Senate has admitted to frequent LSD use and released what he calls his “LSD Journals,” a long, rambling set of observations and musings that range from longings for elusive love and friendship to fantasies of rape and murder. Augustus Sol Invictus, 32, is an Orlando lawyer […]

Guest AuthorNovember 4, 2015

Do you remember where you were Nov. 6, 1986? I do. I walked into Chamberlain High School, in North Tampa, and over to my friend’s locker to wish her a happy birthday. I don’t remember the friend, she is one of those faceless, nameless acquaintances we meet in high school and soon forget. But I […]

Shannon NickinsonAugust 9, 2015

I know that the beautiful sunsets and sugar-white sands can inspire flights of fancy in every brain. I know that the heat and humidity can make even the most focused mind wander. But some folks need to come in out of the sun. The July 31 murders of 76-year-old Voncile Smith and her two sons, […]

Guest AuthorApril 7, 2015

Can it matter that a famous actress will play a drone pilot on stage in New York and play it as a troubled murderer with an updated effort to wash out the damn spot of blood on her famous hands? With permanent war declared the norm and entirely acceptable, only a generation removed from wisdom […]

Florence SnyderMarch 31, 2015

A half century after an unsolved murder, who did the crime is less important that what the crime did to those left behind. The October 22, 1966 murders of Robert and Helen Sims and their 12 year old daughter Joy changed Tallahassee, overnight, from a place where everyone trusted everyone to a place where the […]

Tag: murder

Florida House wants to conceal murder witnesses’ identities

At first court appearance, Markeith Loyd goes on expletive-filled rant about death of girlfriend

Ministers talk weekend violence at Cleveland Arms presser

Pam Bondi wants court to clarify death penalty ruling

Meth juice can be counted for charging purposes, court says

Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Augustus Sol Invictus admits LSD use, describes experiences in journals

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Thank you, Governor Scott, for signing this man’s death warrant

Shannon Nickinson: Murders, gruesome clues, waterfront project, City Hall intrigue roil Pensacola’s bubble

David Swanson: Can Anne Hathaway's 'Grounded' ground war drones?

Florence Snyder: The murders that changed Tallahassee forever