‘Missy’s Law’ advances in Senate

By The News Service of Florida

A bill that would immediately remand someone who was found guilty of a dangerous crime into custody unanimously passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee on Civil and Criminal Justice on Wednesday.

Entitled “Missy’s Law,” SB 928 would also require the person to stay in custody pending sentencing or further proceedings without the possibility of release on bond.

The bill also adds computer pornography and child exploitation to the definitions of “dangerous crimes.”

It’s named after Melissa “Missy” Mogle, a 5-year-old girl who died in Tallahassee in 2025 after being abused by her stepfather, Daniel Spencer. A year earlier Spencer was charged and adjudicated guilty of traveling to meet a minor he knew was 15 years old.

The measure faces one more committee hurdle in the Senate, the Rules Committee, before reaching the floor. The House version of the bill, HB 455, is ready for a floor vote in that chamber.