STRONGER PROTECTIONS MUST BE ENACTED FOR CRIMINAL INFORMANTS

I am the father of Rachel Hoffman, a 23-year-year old Florida State
University graduate who was killed last May in a botched undercover
police investigation. I have suffered a great deal over the past year
— more than most people will ever have to endure. Losing a daughter
is a tragedy that I wish upon no one.

I am thankful that throughout the process, I have had wonderful
supporters such as Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and Rep.
Peter Nehr, R-Tarpon Springs, to fight on Rachel's behalf to pass
Rachel's Law — a proposed law to prevent tragedies such as this from
ever happening again.

Anyone who had the opportunity to know my beautiful daughter Rachel
loved her for her spirit and caring nature. She had so many friends
and so many people whose lives she touched in her short time with us,
and I know she is near us now, out of sight, but never out of mind.

The death of our daughter was tragic and needless. There are
thousands of college students like Rachel in Florida and, despite the
best efforts of their parents, many will experiment with drugs or
alcohol. While I always did "the walk and talk" with Rachel about
drug use, she still made that mistake and was paying the consequences
for her actions. But her punishment should never have cost her life.

The goal that Rachel's mother, Margie Weiss, and I have is to add
three essential provisions that are missing from an amended and
weakened version of Rachel's Law. The purpose of these three
provisions is to instill fairness and safety into a system that
currently operates with no rules, and so that confidential
informants, particularly those who go undercover, as my daughter did,
don't become victims. If the amendments that we're asking for were in
place earlier, Rachel would still be alive today. The three provisions include:

# Anyone who is offered to serve law enforcement should have the
right to be advised of counsel before agreeing to serve as a
confidential informant. It is a fundamental right in our constitution
that a person is able to consult with their lawyer. Rachel was not
given that opportunity.

# Second, any person who is in a substance-abuse treatment should
never be used in undercover activities while they are in treatment.
Speaking as a mental-health professional, it is contradictory to
rehabilitate a person while they are interacting with drugs. The
current amendment language does not prevent law enforcement from
recruiting substance abuse patients in substance abuse treatment
setting. Advertisement

# Finally, Rachel's mother and I are adamant that a non-violent
person should never be involved in an undercover operation with a
known violent offender, especially if a weapon is present. In
Rachel's case, she was sent out by herself to meet with two
criminals, neither of whom she knew, and one of whom had a long
history of violence and the other, whom the police suspected of
stealing a gun out of someone's car two days before Rachel was
murdered. Rachel was the most loving person I ever new; I never saw
her as violent.

Adding these three provisions to the law is a step towards ensuring
the safety of future confidential informants, who might be unaware of
the dangers of serving as a criminal informant. Human life is more
important than completing a deal.

Rachel's mother and I are asking lawmakers to take these three steps
to ensure that tragedies like this never happen again. We need change
to make sure that there are checks and balances in a system that has
been in the shadows and offers little hope for anyone trying to turn
their life around.

Please hear our voice today. Our Rachel is gone, but there are
thousands of other Rachels out there.