Incarceration in Florida
overview of incarceration in the U.S. state of Florida
Incarceration in Florida is one of the main forms of punishment, rehabilitation, or both for the commission of felony and other offenses in the state.
History
Mandatory guidelines such as the 1999 10-20-Life and the 1995 Three-strikes law established minimum sentencing for those convicted of crimes. The 1995 law requiring convicts to serve 85% of their sentence and Zero tolerance have all contributed to lengthening prisoners sentences in Florida.
Two-strikes law
Florida passed HB 1371, the Prisoner Release Reoffender Act, in May 1997. This so-called "two-strikes" law dictates that individuals convicted of certain categories of crime who reoffend within three years is subject to life in prison without parole, even if this is only a second offense, gaining the distinction of, "one of the strictest sentencing laws in the US."
Cost
In 2013, the average cost to house a prisoner was $18,000 per inmate annually.
Population
In 2013, there were 100,844 inmates, aged 14 to 93. 93% of the population were males, 7% females. Figures do not include those in local jails or juvenile justice systems.
53% have been incarcerated for violent crimes. Drugs offenses constitute 17% of the population.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Incarceration in Florida” as overview of incarceration in the U.S. state of Florida. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as overview of incarceration in the U.S. state of Florida. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 5, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q16985839. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1999, 1995, 1371 and 1997.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Incarceration in Florida”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Incarceration in Florida primary sources, Incarceration in Florida archive and Incarceration research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Incarceration in Florida”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Incarceration in Florida” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.