Tristin Murphy Act passes the Florida Senate
Florida legislators unanimously passed Senate Bill 168 – the Tristin Murphy Act. It is designed to reform how mentally ill people like Tristin Murphy are treated in the state’s criminal justice system by offering them treatment rather than prison.
Tristin Murphy was a 37-year-old schizophrenic when he was sent to a prison on a littering charge. A little more than a month later he killed himself with a chainsaw.
Since his death his mother has been fighting for change.
Following his death, CBS News Miami launched a two-year investigation into the events that led to that fateful day.
Our investigation revealed how police, prosecutors, judges, jailers, and prison officials moved Tristin through the criminal justice system without ever truly addressing his underlying mental problems.
Murphy’s story was chronicled in the 2023 CBS Miami documentary, Warehoused: The Life and Death of Tristin Murphy. The documentary caught the attention of legislators, most notably Senate President Ben Albritton, who made mental health reform among his top priorities this year.
And we discovered Tristin’s case is not unique as jails and prisons are being overwhelmed with an ever growing mentally ill population.
“Humanity gets the credit for this,” Albritton said before the vote, “not any individual, because this bill will save lives. It’s going to change the trajectory for people in Florida that don’t even know it yet. It’s going to make our system stronger.”
