Reporter reflects on witnessing 10 Florida executions in a single year

A Gainesville Sun reporter recounts the experience of attending ten Florida executions over the course of one year, offering a first-person account of what that process looks like from a witness’s perspective. The piece provides an inside look at the human and procedural dimensions of capital punishment as carried out by the state of Florida.

Sources: The Gainesville Sun

Judge rules Fishback stays on Florida governor’s primary ballot

A Leon County circuit judge ruled Monday that Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback remains eligible for the Florida governor’s race, rejecting a lawsuit brought by Lt. Governor Jay Collins that sought to remove him over a residency dispute. Collins argued Fishback failed to meet the Florida Constitution’s seven-year residency requirement, pointing to a 2020 Washington, D.C. vote as evidence he had abandoned his Florida domicile. The judge found the complaint did not present sufficient evidence that Fishback intended to give up his Florida permanent residency, though Collins could still appeal.

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Sources: WCJB TV20

Federal lawsuit accuses FWC of illegally accessing activists’ driver’s license data

A new federal lawsuit charges the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with unlawfully searching the driver’s license records of environmental activists who publicly criticized the state’s authorized bear hunt. The activists, including members of Bear Warriors United, say they discovered the searches through a public records request and argue the agency targeted them for exercising free-speech rights rather than for making actual threats. FWC has acknowledged receiving threatening messages related to the hunt, but critics note that the identities of those who made the threats are redacted in agency records.

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Sources: WCJB TV20

Florida bans undocumented students from state colleges and GED programs

The Florida State Board of Education has voted to bar undocumented students from enrolling in state colleges and GED programs, making Florida the fourth state in the country to restrict undocumented residents’ access to higher education. The policy affects community colleges and adult education pathways that had previously been open to students regardless of immigration status.

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Sources: The Independent Florida Alligator