Tallahassee city commissioner and mayoral candidate Jeremy Matlow recently took to social media and the pages of the Tallahassee Democrat to defend a judge who has come under fire for granting bail to a convicted sex offender who was charged with murdering his stepdaughter while awaiting sentencing, saying the criticism is part of a “far-right” conspiracy. Matlow responded to Governor DeSantis’ impeachment call of Leon County Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper as he signed Missy’s Law this week. The legislation demands judges keep defendants convicted of dangerous crimes in custody instead of freeing them ahead of sentencing. “We live in a time where some people just don’t get it, and that includes some of these judges who just don’t want to hold these people accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” DeSantis said. Missy was allegedly murdered by her stepfather, Daniel Spencer, while he was out on bail awaiting sentencing after being convicted in an underage sex sting for attempting to meet a 15-year-old girl. Judge Baker-Carper opted not to jail Spencer before he was sentenced, despite a request from prosecutors to do so. State Attorney Jack Campbell blasted the decision to allow Spencer to remain free after he was found guilty weeks before the girl’s death. Campbell told the Tallahassee Democrat that Missy would still be alive had Spencer been locked up while he awaited sentencing in the child sex operation. He noted that prosecutors asked to remand him, but that Baker-Carper rejected their request. During the hearing prosecutors stated, “the state would be asking that he be remanded into custody given the nature of this offense as well as the fact that he does score on his score sheet.” Defenders of the decision say the judge followed the appropriate guidelines in allowing bail. Matlow Enters the Fray After Desantis called for impeachment, Matlow posted on social media that “Governor DeSantis attacks on Judge Baker-Carper are an attempt to stack the courts with far-right, partisan ideologues.” In an opinion piece published by the Tallahassee Democrat, Matlow continued with the same theme as he wrote, ” it’s all a part of a long-standing right-wing effort to stack the courts with extremist conservative judges.” In the article, Matlow stated that “So many powerful institutions failed Missy Mogle before and after her tragic murder at the tender age of 5”, and added that “Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper, the youngest woman and African American to be elected judge in the Second Judicial Circuit, is the least culpable in the flawed process that led to the death of Missy Mogle.”  The article and a related video posted on Matlow’s Facebook account, which is promoting his run for Tallahassee mayor, garnered over 250 comments and approximately 10,000 views. The opinion article was also posted on the Tallahassee Democrat social media accounts. ...read more read less