Floridians will face stronger deterrents for manipulating or mishandling dead bodies at crime scenes under legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday.
Rep. Mike Giallombardo's HB 1653 makes it a third degree penalty for those who, absent "an order from the office of the district medical examiner," decides to "willfully" touch, remove, or disturb "the body, clothing, or any article upon or near the body."
That conduct used to merit a first-degree misdemeanor charge.
Speaking of first-degree misdemeanors, that's still the penalty for failure to report deaths to the medical examiner or a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the crime scene, along with concealing evidence from the same.
The law, passed unanimously by the House and Senate, takes effect in July. And a legislative committee analyses notes that it may lead to more people in prison for longer stretches, based on a February analysis by the Criminal Justice Impact Conference considered the bill on February 12, 2024 that suggested "increased admissions and longer terms of incarceration in such facilities" may lead to an "indeterminate positive impact" on the prison population.
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