Committee unanimously backs bill to compensate descendants of Groveland Four

The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 28 unanimously reported CS for SB 694, a bill to provide compensation to the next of kin of Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd and Ernest Thomas — four Black men wrongly accused in 1949 and later pardoned or exonerated.

Sponsor Sen. LaVaughn Bracy Davis framed the measure as completing the state’s prior acknowledgments of innocence and pardon. “This bill is about justice,” Bracy Davis said, recounting the history of the cases and the state’s prior actions including a formal apology and posthumous pardons. She introduced an amendment that, if funds are appropriated, would divide the total equally into four shares for the families or estates.

Family members and advocates spoke in support. Beverly Robinson, a first cousin of Samuel Shepherd, described the intergenerational harm and urged lawmakers to provide restitution. Kiara Nixon of Equal Ground Action Fund and Delatry Hollinger (former legislative aide to Sen. Geraldine Thompson) recounted the violence and repression the families endured. Jonathan Weber, Florida policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, urged the committee to act and called the bill a necessary step to advance accountability.

Sen. Hooper and appropriations leaders questioned where a dollar recommendation would appear; Bracy Davis said leadership advised advancing the policy language first and negotiating appropriation amounts in later stages. After adopting the amendment that specifies equal shares, the committee voted 10‑0 to report the bill favorably.

What’s next: SB 694 proceeds with the committee’s recommendation. The committee and appropriations leadership indicated monetary amounts will be negotiated and included in later budget or amendment processes.