The attached letter was transmitted on April 23, 2019 to Warden Barry Reddish of Florida State Prison, pertaining to Robert Joseph Long, who was sentenced to death for the 1984 murder of Michelle Simms.

On or about May 27, 1984, Long approached Simms, and she entered his car.  Long drove Simms to a remote location, forced her to undress at knife point, and tied her to the car seat.  Long then raped Simms and attempted to strangle her.  When his attempts failed, he hit her head with a club and pushed her from the car.  Long slit her throat and left her on the side of the road to die.  Deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office found Simms’s nude body.  Her face was bloodied, her hands and body were tied, and she suffered rope burns on her neck and chin.  Fibers located near her body matched fibers found in Long’s car. Continue reading →

This week, Governor Ron DeSantis issued an Executive Order establishing Florida’s Statewide Task Force on Opioid Drug Abuse. I am honored and humbled to serve as Chair of this vital 21-member team. From my very first day in office, we sought a formalized statewide structure to meet this crisis head on, and I am grateful to Governor DeSantis for taking swift action to establish this task force.

As a former federal prosecutor and circuit judge, I have seen how drug abuse destroys families and harms our state. When I began my campaign for Attorney General, I talked about the devastating reality that Florida lost 14 people to opioid overdoses every day. As I traveled the state, I had parents cry on my shoulder as they told me of losing their child to this epidemic.

Now, 17 people a day are dying from opioid abuse in Florida. Continue reading →

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, First Lady Casey DeSantis announced the 2019 Black History Month student contest winners and Excellence in Education Award recipients. This year’s theme was “Celebrating Public Service” and the winners were honored during the Black History Month awards ceremony at the Florida Governor’s Mansion. Black History Month is celebrated every year in Florida during the month of February.

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, First Lady Casey DeSantis announced the 2019 Black History Month student contest winners and Excellence in Education Award recipients. This year’s theme was “Celebrating Public Service” and the winners were honored during the Black History Month awards ceremony at the Florida Governor’s Mansion. Black History Month is celebrated every year in Florida during the month of February.

Friends, This past week I had the pleasure of attending a private early showing, thanks to my good friend Senator Kelli Stargel, of the new major motion picture “Unplanned”. The movie tells the true story of Abby Johnson and her dramatic road to conversion from the youngest Planned Parenthood Clinic Director to a leading Pro-Life advocate. This powerful film exposes viewers to the truth of what happens in the abortion industry, and the emotional, physical and mental damage that can trap women (and men) in a prison of pain and guilt. The story also offer its viewers, whether they’ve been touched by abortion or not, a story of love, forgiveness and a hope for our future. Since the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973, it has been estimated that there have been over 60 million legal abortions in the United States. Even just one is heart wrenching enough for me, but to think that we have extinguished the lives of millions of our own offspring is devastating. Continue reading →

After more than 2 YEARS, and $25 MILLION taxpayer dollars spent, the Mueller Report proves what I have been saying since Day One: NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION — COMPLETE EXONERATION.

Democrats worked with the Fake News Media for 2 years orchestrating this Nasty Witch Hunt to use our government as a weapon to take away the votes of 63 MILLION Americans.

After they lied to the American people, Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leadership, and all of the 2020 Democratic candidates raised MILLIONS of dollars off of their phony Witch Hunt!

Democrats and the Fake News media have proven that there is no line they won’t cross, so we need to fight back BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE.

It is said by seismic activity specialist the quakes could be related to natural or human activity but did not confirm or deny that they were connected to oil drilling in the area.

Local meteorologist provided earthquake coverage said they had been in contact with USGS geophysicists, and that it is next to impossible that oil drilling or fracking directly caused the earthquakes.

“Our area lies along a normally inactive fault line known as the Bahama Fracture Zone. Earthquakes generally don’t happen along this fault. Seeing minor activity like this is not uncommon. It happened about 30 years ago. We are told they are part of normal seismic activity.” Continue reading →

The Social Security Administration (SSA) and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) launched a joint Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign addressing a nationwide telephone impersonation scheme. Social Security and the OIG continue to receive reports from across the country about fraudulent phone calls from people falsely claiming to be Social Security employees. Calls can even “spoof” Social Security’s national customer service number as the incoming number on the caller ID. The new PSAs will air on TV and radio stations across the country to alert the public to remain vigilant against potential fraud.

Thank you,

Blanca Taylor

Public Affairs Specialist

This week, we celebrated Senior Day at the Florida Capitol. More than five million seniors call Florida home. Some are lifelong Floridians. Others moved here to retire and enjoy our warm weather, great economy and beautiful beaches.

Seniors also play an important role in our efforts to fight fraud aimed at older Floridians. In recognition of the day, I invited members of our Seniors v. Crime Program to our office to thank them for the work they do to protect Floridians.

These volunteers, called Senior Sleuths, helped recover more than a million dollars last year. They recovered an additional value of $986,327 through realized gains, such as a contractor returning to finish promised work or credits applied to a future purchase.

Protecting Florida’s seniors is a top priority of our office, and these Senior Sleuths volunteer their time to help fight fraud and protect older Floridians from scams. They are also now playing an important role on Florida’s new Senior Protection Team. Continue reading →

The week of March 10th, we celebrated Sheriffs Day at the Florida Capitol. Supporting Florida’s law enforcement community is a top priority of our office, and as the wife of a federal law enforcement agent I know intimately the risks and sacrifices involved with upholding an oath to defend others.

To say thank you, we invited sheriffs from across Florida to our office for coffee. I am grateful for the commitment these men and women make to fight crime and protect Floridians.

We had the opportunity to honor one of these heroes at the Florida Cabinet meeting. Hillsborough County Lieutenant Anthony Collins grew up in a dangerous neighborhood in Tampa and that inspired him to become a law enforcement officer.

Lt. Collins uses his personal experience to create positive relationships between local law enforcement and the community, especially youth struggling with anger management or drug abuse. Lt. Collins was joined by his family as we presented him with the Attorney General’s Back the Blue Award.

His son Anthony Jr. even spoke up at the Cabinet meeting to let everyone know how proud he is of his father. Continue reading →