Florida Senate approves $4 million payment to descendants of the Groveland 4

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate unanimously passed legislation on Thursday authorizing $4 million to the next of kin of Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd and Ernest Thomas, who were wrongly accused in the Groveland case beginning in 1949.

Senator Levon "L. Bracy" Davis, the bill sponsor, framed the measure as accountability and an acknowledgment of intergenerational trauma. "This bill provides $4,000,000 to the next of kin to the Groveland 4," Bracy Davis told colleagues, adding that money cannot restore lost lives but can be a tangible recognition of wrongs the state has acknowledged.

Lawmakers from both parties offered speeches of support, describing long committee hearings and family testimony. Senator Arrington said the bill was not an attempt to "put a dollar amount on suffering" but to provide recognition and restoration. Leaders described the bill as the final step in a process by which Florida had already formally acknowledged the innocence of the men.

The Senate voted in favor of the committee substitute for SB 694 by voice vote and recorded the passage; sponsors said the bill reflects the state's responsibility to remedy historical injustice.

What’s next: With Senate passage the bill moves to the House for consideration and, if enacted, the appropriation and distribution mechanism will be developed by the implementing agencies identified in the statute.

Vote: Unanimous on the floor.