Rob Bradley Promises Senate Hearing on Released Inmates

With two escaped inmates who were released by mistake from the Franklin Correctional Institute captured in Panama City on Saturday night, Florida Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Orange Park, is promising to hold a hearing on the matter. Bradley chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice.

I want to first express my deep appreciation to our brave men and women in law enforcement who apprehended the two murderers who were erroneously released from custody, Bradley said on Monday. Now that our families are safe from these dangerous individuals, it is time to turn our attention to a very serious matter.

One of the most important roles of the Florida Senate is to oversee the performance of the various agencies of our state government, Bradley added. Consistent with this duty, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice will hold a comprehensive hearing at its next scheduled meeting on the recent events at Franklin Correctional Institute. There is no reasonable excuse for the erroneous release of two murderers serving life sentences. The Senate will conduct a thorough review of how existing procedures failed to prevent these releases, and whether there exists any other, as yet undetected, erroneous releases. Every Floridian, and certainly every victim of crime, deserves to have complete and total confidence that this situation will never happen again.

As chairman, I will ask officials from the Department of Corrections, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Clerks of the Court, the state court system and the Orange County sheriffs office to appear before the committee at its November meeting, Bradley said in conclusion.