Sam Christopher Andolina, 39, was charged with raping and molesting a 13-year-old autistic girl in Palm Coast. He is to be sentenced to 10 years’ probation, but his sentence is being delayed for having no place to live locally.
Civil Rights
End-Running Federal Lawsuit, Gov. DeSantis Petitions Florida Supreme Court on Felon Voting Rights
A week after asking a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit on the issue, Gov. Ron DeSantis is seeking guidance from the Florida Supreme Court about a controversial state law requiring people convicted of felonies to repay financial obligations before they can regain the right to vote.
Florida Senate Will Study White Nationalism and Other Factors in Mass Violence
In the run-up to the 2020 legislative session, the Florida Senate will review acts of mass violence such as the deadly shootings this weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, along with factors such as white nationalism.
Three University Students Pose With Guns In Front of Shot-Up Emmett Till Memorial
Three students were suspended from their fraternity house, Kappa Alpha, after we shared an Instagram photo one of the men posted that was taken in front of a sign commemorating the murder of the 14-year-old black youth in 1955.
Our Immigrant Prisons Are An Atrocity
As reports surface about immigrant children sleeping on concrete floors and people being forced to drink water from toilets, one fact has become unmistakably clear: It’s well past time to demand an end to Trump’s cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrants.
Denying Voting Rights to Felons Should Be Beneath Us
Who gets to vote should be driven by citizenship, the spirit of the United States Constitution and all America stands for, not by blowhardism and dirty tricks, argues Nancy Smith.
Good News: Straight People Don’t Need a Pride Parade
Organizers of the “straight pride parade” in Boston this summer have ties to numerous far-right groups. Here are conditions that would make such a parade easier to embrace.
The Most Dangerous Time For Women’s Rights in Decades
More than 250 bills restricting abortions have been filed in 41 states this year. At least a third have successfully passed 20-week abortion bans, based on the unfounded assertion that a fetus can feel pain 20 weeks after fertilization.
You Don’t Get To Discriminate Just Because You’re Religious
A bill in Texas would allow professionals of all kinds — doctors, pharmacists, electricians — to deny services to LGBTQ customers on religious grounds, a consequence of a recurring misinterpretation of law.
DeSantis Will Sign Controversial Bill With Conditions on Felons’ Voting Rights
Earlier in the day, the League of Women Voters of Florida held a conference call with reporters urging DeSantis to veto the Amendment 4 implementation bill.