Rachel's Law - Florida Statute
Rachel's Law - Florida Statute
Rachel's Law - Florida Statute
Search for Your Senator
Rachel's Law - Florida Statute
Rachel's Law - Florida Statute
Search for Your Representative
Rachel's Law - Florida Statute
Search for Your Representative
Videos
Rachel's Law: The Murder of a Confidential Informant in America
DOCUMENTARY: Video Credit: Cameron Campbell - Actuality Media.
This YouTube video is approximately 55 minutes long and has over 18 age restriction for viewing.
Summary: Starts with Rachel's involvement with the music scene around Tallahassee, Florida then travels back to review her life through the eyes of family and friends. The events that led to Rachel's arrest, confidential informant recruitment and her undercover murder is reviewed. The aftermath of her murder and steps leading to the creation of Rachel's Law is detailed.
In Harms Way
DOCUMENTARY: Directed & Produced by Jackie Urteaga, Edited & Co-Produced by Lawton Robinson- "In Harm's Way"
Summary: In Harm's Way is a gripping 25 minute documentary that unpacks the tragic chain of events leading to Rachel's murder and the far-reaching consequences of a broken system. Through candid interviews with key figures-family members, legal experts, journalists, and former law enforcement officers-the film sheds light on the reckless use of young, untrained informants, the institutional failures that allowed Rachel to be placed in a deadly situation, and the movement that followed to enact Rachel's Law in Florida.
The Tragic Story of Rachel Hoffman - Part 1
BROADCAST: 20/20-ABC - John Stossel/Brian Ross - "Rachel Hoffman's Death-Part 1"
Summary: Broadcast in July 2008, this is part one of a two-part special detailing Rachel Hoffman's life, events leading up to her arrest and becoming an undercover confidential informant for the drug enforcement division of the Tallahassee Police Department. Includes interviews with friends, family, experts and police department representatives.
The Tragic Story of Rachel Hoffman - Part 2
BROADCAST: 20/20-ABC - John Stossel/Brian Ross - "Rachel Hoffman's Death-Part 2"
Summary: Broadcast in July 2008, this is part one of a two-part special detailing Rachel Hoffman's life, events leading up to her arrest and becoming an undercover confidential informant for the drug enforcement division of the Tallahassee Police Department. Includes interviews with friends, family, experts and police department representatives.
Florida's Rachel's Law - Mitigating Risk in CI Operations
A YouTube video overview of a training program created for FL law enforcement on Rachel's Law.
Video Credit: Moxie Training
This YouTube video is less than 3 minutes long and is meant to encourage ordering of the training.
Summary: Enacted in 2009, 'Rachel's Law' requires Florida Law Enforcement Agencies to institute new policies, procedures, & training relating to Confidential Informant operations. 'Rachel's Law' places stringent requirements on every law enforcement professional working with CIs. Failure to implement training lessons could increase a department's exposure to civil liability & negatively impact the successful resolution of cases.
The program comes with a comprehensive instructor's resource kit: a manual with proficiency demonstrations, test, test answers, a copy of the statute, a policy and procedure template, and CI documentation templates.
Articles
Are Pot Users Criminals?
Are Pot Users Criminals?
Are Pot Users Criminals?
NEWS STORY: ABC News - Brian Ross - "Are Pot Users Criminals? The Tragic Case of Rachel Hoffman"
Botched Sting
Are Pot Users Criminals?
Are Pot Users Criminals?
NEWS STORY: ABC News - Brian Ross and Vic Walters - "Botched Sting: Killed With Gun She Was Supposed to Buy"
Deadly Dealing
Are Pot Users Criminals?
FL Officers Disciplined
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT: NBC's Dateline with Chris Hansen: "Deadly Dealing" Transcript
FL Officers Disciplined
FL Officers Disciplined
FL Officers Disciplined
ARTICLE: FL Capitol News Service posting "Officers Disciplined for Informant's Death"
FL Settlement Bill
FL Officers Disciplined
FL Settlement Bill
ARTICLE: FL Senate Claim Bill (Settlement) on behalf of Irv Hoffman & Margie Weiss "CS/SB 44 (2012) – Rules Committee Results"
The Throwaways
FL Officers Disciplined
FL Settlement Bill
ARTICLE: New Yorker magazine "The Throwaways" by Sarah Stillman
Seven Years Later
The Fix: Rachel's Law Protects CIs
The Fix: Rachel's Law Protects CIs
ARTICLE: Tallahassee Democrat online by Karl Etters, Rachel's boyfriend. "Seven Year's Later, Remembering Rachel Hoffman"
The Fix: Rachel's Law Protects CIs
The Fix: Rachel's Law Protects CIs
The Fix: Rachel's Law Protects CIs
ARTICLE: Online source The Fix. Story named "Rachel's Law" Protects Confidential Informants"
Related Stories from Other States
Amhurst, MA: Eric Sinacori
Louisville, KY: Devor Stoner
Louisville, KY: Devor Stoner
The MassMedia story on Eric Sinacori's death in Massachusetts
Louisville, KY: Devor Stoner
Louisville, KY: Devor Stoner
Louisville, KY: Devor Stoner
WLKY news story on CI Devor Stoner's murder in Kentucky
Wahpeton, ND: Andrew Sadek
Lebanon, KY: LaBron Gaither
Lebanon, KY: LaBron Gaither
Wikipedia information on CI Andrew Sadek's death in North Dakota
Lebanon, KY: LaBron Gaither
Lebanon, KY: LaBron Gaither
Lebanon, KY: LaBron Gaither
Snitching.org report on the death of burned CI LaBron Gaither while CI for the Kentucky State Police.
Recommended Reading
Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice - 2008
Although it is nearly invisible to the public, criminal snitching has invaded the American legal system in risky and sometimes shocking ways.
Snitching is the first comprehensive analysis of this powerful and problematic practice, in which informant deals generate unreliable evidence, allow criminals to escape punishment, endanger the innocent, compromise the integrity of police work, and exacerbate tension between police and poor urban residents.
Driven by dozens of real-life stories and debacles, the book exposes the social destruction that snitching can cause in high-crime African American neighborhoods, and how using criminal informants renders our entire penal process more secretive and less fair.
Natapoff also uncovers the far reaching legal, political, and cultural significance of snitching: from the war on drugs to hip hop music, from the FBI's mishandling of its murderous mafia informants to the new surge in white collar and terrorism informing. She explains how existing law functions and proposes new reforms.
By delving into the secretive world of criminal informants, Snitching reveals deep and often disturbing truths about the way American justice really works.
2008 Edition available on Amazon: Includes references to Rachel's case.
Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice - 2022
First published over ten years ago, Snitching has become known as the “informant bible,” a leading text for advocates, attorneys, journalists, and scholars.
This influential book has helped free the innocent, it has fueled reform at the state and federal level, and it is frequently featured in high-profile media coverage of snitching debacles. This updated edition contains a decade worth of new stories, new data, new legislation and legal developments, much of it generated by the book itself and by Natapoff’s own work. In clear, accessible language, the book exposes the social destruction that snitching can cause in heavily-policed Black neighborhoods, and how using criminal informants renders our entire penal process more secretive and less fair. By delving into the secretive world of criminal informants, Snitching reveals deep and often disturbing truths about the way American justice really works.
Though it is nearly invisible to the public, the massive informant market shapes the American legal system in risky and sometimes shocking ways. Police rely on criminal suspects to obtain warrants, to perform surveillance, and to justify arrests. Prosecutors negotiate with defendants for information and cooperation, offering to drop charges or lighten sentences in exchange. In this book, Alexandra Natapoff provides a comprehensive analysis of this powerful and problematic practice. She shows how informant deals generate unreliable evidence, allow serious criminals to escape punishment, endanger the innocent, and exacerbate distrust between police and poor communities of color.
2022 Edition available on Amazon: Includes references to Rachel's case.
THE TRUTH: Real Stories and the Risk of Losing a Free Press in America
Gabordi tells the story of his career in journalism with anecdotes, reprinted columns from his past and insight into his family life and personal feelings.
Author Bob Gabordi spent 41 years as a journalist, most working for America's largest newspaper company, Gannett, during its heyday as the nation's premiere news organization and edited the Tallahassee Democrat for 10 years. He has a passion for truth telling. He championed public service journalism and was a cheerleader for communities he lived in. He has a deep-seated belief that freedom and democracy require reporting and news outlets that are free of political influence and physical or economic duress.
In the book, he recounts the horror story of Rachel Hoffman, the young Tallahassee woman killed by two men she was trying to set up in a $13,000 drug sting. The dogged reporting of Democrat reporter Jennifer Portman led to reforms in how Tallahassee police handle confidential informants.
Author's Note: "I can still feel the chills as I recall the scene on Fifth Avenue below the editor?s office in August 1997. This was really happening. Justice had prevailed. Two people were given their lives back because of the journalism by my team, the courage of our reporter and photographer. Now, their family was gathering in front of the building, holding copies of an EXTRA edition of The Herald-Dispatch that declared their freedom, holding signs and crying tears of gratitude. This was why, I was sure, the Founders had created the First Amendment. We had stood up to a foreign government and forced our own to do the right thing. Stories would not always end so elegantly. Justice and good journalism do not always win. There would be decades of frustration between moments of celebration. But this is a moment when journalism won. And it felt amazing."
2020 Edition available on Amazon: Includes references to Rachel's case.