Saturday, March 29, 2014

Protesters want deaf man freed

Hundreds of people came out this week to show support for Felix Garcia at the Florida Capitol. The deaf man has been in jail for 32 years for a crime he didn't commit. Prosecutors claimed Garcia was guilty of killing a man in Tampa during a drug robbery in 1981. His brother has since confessed to the crime. But Garcia remains behind bars and it will take an act of the governor to get him out. Garcia had no interpreter and did not know what was happening in the courtroom, according to the Florida Association of the Deaf. State Senator Thad Altman has offered legislation required licensed interpreters for court proceedings which you can read here. There's an online petition about the case here.