11,000 VIOLATED RELEASE, STILL FREE

Thousands of violent criminals in Florida repeatedly violate the terms
of their probation with little or no consequence.

Instead of being shipped to prison, many are given a warning, referred
to counseling or sent to jail for a few months.

Like Joseph Smith, the Sarasota man charged in the abduction and
slaying of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia, many don't face prison until
charged with another violent crime.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune analyzed the records of 71,000 criminals
who committed violent crimes or sex offenses and were placed on
probation since 2001.

Of those, 11,000 violated their probation and were not sent to
prison.

"That means that judges in 11,000 cases are walking on land mines
that could go off any time," said Circuit Judge Harry Rapkin, who
handled two of Smith's probation violations.

Rapkin, whom some blame for allowing Smith to remain free despite
probation violations, said it's common for judges across the state to
handle violations the way he does.

"You can't just send everyone to prison," he said.

Today, state lawmakers will hold a hearing to determine whether
Florida's probation system needs to be fixed.

Much of the focus will be on how judges and probation officers handle
people such as Smith, who was arrested 13 times and committed at least
that many probation violations, yet was free when arrested and charged
with killing Carlie.

Smith's case is not unusual, especially for criminals whose repeat
offenses deal primarily with drug use.

About 2,500 of the violent offenders reviewed by the Herald-Tribune
had violated probation at least three times. One had 20 violations.

Rollin Hall, 36, of Ocala has been arrested 17 times and committed 20
probation violations since 1984. He remained on probation despite
arrests on suspected assault and domestic battery.

Before Carlie's death, state officials never tracked how many breaks
were given to criminals. In the weeks since, they have completed a
statewide review of the 152,000 criminals on probation at the end of
last year.

Of those, at least 42,000 committed probation violations serious
enough to land them before a judge. About 13,000 were sent to prison.

John Fuller, executive director of the Florida Corrections Commission,
said the statistics don't necessarily mean judges were lenient. A case
could be undermined by victims who won't testify or other factors that
allow criminals to plead down to lighter sentences.

"A lot of times when you end up with a person on probation, it's
because of some circumstance that may not necessarily come out in
public," Fuller said.

Lawmakers are expected to consider legislation that requires judges to
send violent criminals to prison when they violate their probation.
Such a move could be costly.

The Department of Corrections estimates that more than 7,000 people
are on probation in Florida with records similar to Smith's - people
with violent histories who violate their probation. The Herald-Tribune
analysis puts the number closer to 11,000.

Using the state's more conservative estimate, putting them all in
prison would cost more than $121 million a year, according to the DOC.

Even then, there would be no guarantee that someone on probation won't
commit a terrible crime, said Corrections Secretary James Crosby, who
will testify at today's hearing.

"There's no one profile that predicts who the next murderer is going
to be," he said.

Preventing The Next Tragedy

Kelley Purpura, a counselor with the Hillsborough County Victim
Assistance Program, has seen it before: A convicted criminal gets put
on probation, instead of in prison, and victimizes someone else.

"The fact of the matter is, when you have a child who is hurt by a
person, all you want is the person to go away for the rest of their
life so they don't hurt another person," she said.

Purpura was one of several counselors who helped the family of Amanda
Brown, a 7- year-old Tampa girl who was sexually assaulted and
murdered by Willie Crain in 1998.

He had been arrested at least 10 times before he was charged with
Amanda's murder. In 1985, he went to prison on a 20-year sentence for
repeatedly raping a 9-year-old girl.

He got out 14 years early and was put on probation for life. In May
1997, a judge had a chance to send Crain back to prison on a probation
violation because he had been caught driving while drunk.

Instead, the judge ended Crain's probation early after his attorney
argued that Crain had been rehabilitated.

Sixteen months later, Crain murdered Amanda.

With Carlie in mind, state lawmakers have begun crafting new
legislation.

State Sen. Alex Villalobos, R- Miami, is the sponsor of a bill that
proposes a half-dozen DOC changes. It includes a minimum five-year
prison sentence for violent criminals who are placed on probation and
then arrested for new crimes.

As proposed, the law would apply to people convicted of "forcible
felonies," including burglary, arson, murder, manslaughter and rape.

Old Arguments

As state officials consider those changes, judges and the probation
department continue to argue about the last round of changes.

Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Crosby to head the DOC in February 2003. A
month later, he enacted a zero-tolerance policy for probation violations.

In the past, probation officers decided which violations were serious.
When offenders didn't follow the rules, the officers went to judges
with recommendations for jail time or other sanctions.

Now, officers write a report on every failed urine test and minor
violation and send it to the judge. Instead of making recommendations,
officers are supposed to cite facts and let the judge gauge the severity.

The result: more paperwork, and reports that are sometimes confusing,
judges say.

"Most of the time, there is not enough information in there to make
intelligent decisions," said 2nd Circuit Judge Thomas Bateman of
Tallahassee. "We have to do a lot of reading between the lines."

After Carlie's abduction, probation officials and Rapkin, the judge
who reviewed Smith's last probation violations, blamed each other.

The DOC said Rapkin refused to sign warrants for Smith's arrest.
Rapkin said probation officers didn't give him enough information to
send Smith to jail.

The zero-tolerance policy is the DOC's way of avoiding blame in case
something goes wrong, Rapkin said.

Crosby defended the policy and said it keeps probation officers from
making decisions that should be left to judges.

Sen. Rod Smith, D-Gainesville, said he hopes lawmakers don't act
hastily. Requiring any criminal who violates probation to go to prison
could cost millions and flood prisons.

But the public, responding to Carlie's murder, may put pressure on
lawmakers.

Crosby and others have repeatedly said Carlie's death wasn't caused by
a weakness in the system.

"All this discussion is pitting the good guys against each other, as
opposed to the evil that's out there," Crosby said.