Decision to withhold Sebring bank victims’ names tests new Florida privacy law

A Florida police chief’s decision not to release the names of some of the five women killed in a bank shooting this week represents the first high-profile test of a law being enacted in several states that pits victim privacy against the public’s right to know.

The police chief in Sebring declined to release the names of some of the slain women, citing a provision in the “Marsy’s Law” amendment to the state constitution that voters approved in November.

Florida’s law specifically allows crime victims to prevent the disclosure of information that could be used to locate or harass them or their families. (Read more…)