Convictions for hundreds of Florida inmates who bought drugs from cops involved in a sting operation have been overturned, after the officer's actions were ruled a violation of constitutional rights.
A Sheriff's office in Broward County was allegedly manufacturing its own illicit substances, specifically crack cocaine, in order to sell the substance to people who were then arrested by deputies for drug-related charges.
"It is never too late to do the right thing," said the State Attorney for Broward County Harold Pryor on Friday.
"These records may be a dim memory or an unfortunate part of history to many, but they have had a long-lasting and severe impact on the lives of the people who were arrested – as well as their families and the wider community," Pryor continued.
When the initial case was tried before the Florida State Supreme Court in 1993, judges pointed out that the circumstances surrounding the case were "outrageous" and that the actions of the staff at the Sheriff's office obscured an individual's right to due process, according to CBS 12 News.
It has been over three decades since the case was initially tried, yet hundreds of criminal charges and convictions from the large-scale operation remain on record, still needing to be expunged.
The charges subsequently continued to affect the lives of those they were levied against due to not being vacated against the Supreme Court decision, according to The State Attorney's Office.
"These matters were well before our tenures. However, I am of the opinion that the State has an ethical duty and obligation to correct this injustice before destruction [of old records] is initiated," Pryor wrote in a letter to Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony on Thursday.
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