Bracy Davis\u2019s\u00a0bill to compensate the families did not pass during the 2026 Regular Session. The Orlando Democratic Senator\u2019s proposal received bipartisan support and\u00a0passed\u00a0<\/a>the Senate unanimously<\/a>, but it stalled in the House and was never brought up for a hearing. The Senate brought the proposal back<\/a> during this month\u2019s budget talks, and both sides tentatively reached an agreement late Friday night.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are now one step closer, and I remain hopeful that Governor DeSantis will sign this historic investment into law,\u201d Bracy Davis said.<\/p>\n Ron DeSantis has supported efforts to clear the Groveland Four\u2019s names and has spoken about the injustices they faced. He did not respond to a February request for comment about his support.<\/p>\n DeSantis campaigned on a promise to pardon the Groveland Four, and he fulfilled that promise early in his first term after being elected.<\/p>\n \u201cFor seventy years, these four men have had their history wrongly written for crimes they did not commit. As I have said before, while that is a long time to wait, it is never too late to do the right thing,\u201d\u00a0DeSantis said in 2019<\/a> when he issued the full pardon for what happened in Lake County.<\/p>\n In 1949, 17-year-old\u00a0Norma Padgett and her husband\u2019s car broke down on the side of the road. Shepherd and Irvin stopped to help the couple.<\/p>\n A disagreement followed. In the Jim Crow South, this led to lies, false accusations, and a powerful Sheriff who acted on his own sense of justice.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Jacksonville_728x90.jpg\")
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