from the late 1980s/early 1990s, for people who were convicted of buying crack cocaine in a police sting operation. The main catch - the crack was manufactured by the police because they had difficulty getting product to sell in their sting operation. Those arrested weren't busted for dealing, they were addicts who were buying for their own use; much of the time, the police held the sting sales at locations that were close enough to schools/playgrounds/churches or other spots where the charge would be a felony instead of a misdemeanor. The State Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that the police couldn't do this any more
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida prosecutor says he will seek to vacate as many as 2,600 convictions of people who bought crack cocaine manufactured by the Broward County Sheriff's Office for sting operations between 1988 and 1990.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that people couldn't be charged in cases where the sheriff's office made the crack cocaine and undercover deputies then sold it to buyers who were arrested and charged.
Broward County State Attorney Harold F. Pryor said Friday that while his office was reviewing old records, prosecutors realized that many people may still have criminal charges or convictions on their records because of the sting operation.
Side note, I've known Pryor since he was a little kid; used to play hoops with his dad & I coached him in a peewee basketball league. Nice young man.
“It is never too late to do the right thing,” Pryor said in a statement.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida prosecutor says he will seek to vacate as many as 2,600 convictions of people who bought crack cocaine manufactured by the Broward County Sheriff's Office for sting operations between 1988 and 1990.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that people couldn't be charged in cases where the sheriff's office made the crack cocaine and undercover deputies then sold it to buyers who were arrested and charged.
Broward County State Attorney Harold F. Pryor said Friday that while his office was reviewing old records, prosecutors realized that many people may still have criminal charges or convictions on their records because of the sting operation.
Side note, I've known Pryor since he was a little kid; used to play hoops with his dad & I coached him in a peewee basketball league. Nice young man.
“It is never too late to do the right thing,” Pryor said in a statement.
