The ‘Tristin Murphy Act’ aims to address mental illness in inmates

Warning: The details of this story are disturbing.

“I’m hoping that this will be just a first step in getting things to change in the way people with mental illnesses are treated and handled in the judicial system,” explained Cindee Murphy.

Murphy’s passion for pushing The Tristin Murphy Act comes from her own experiences with her son, Tristin Murphy.

He took his own life, and it’s a corrections officer who handed him the weapon to do it: a chainsaw. 

Background

Tristin started to struggle in his teens. He dropped out of high school and started working. During Hurricane Irma in 2017, the young father worked for a landscaping company.

Shortly after, his legal troubles began. Tristin lost custody of his two boys in 2018. Later that year, he was charged with five felonies after trying to see his sons, who were in his parents’ custody.

Tristin was declared incompetent to stand trial. Six months after that, he was found guilty, credited with time served and put on probation. By then, he had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

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His last arrest would happen in December 2019. Tristin drove his truck into a pond on the grounds of the Charlotte County Jail. He was charged with littering.

He spent 505 days in the Charlotte County Jail, much of it in solitary confinement.

Tristin heard voices in his head. His parents explained, “Oh, and you couldn’t even recognize it as being him talking. A different voice says, ‘Ma’am, you need to listen to your son. He knows what he’s talking about. You need to do what he says.’”

We are treating people who are mentally ill like criminals. Cindee Murphy, Mom

He would be found guilty a year and a half after his initial arrest and sent to the South Florida Reception Center in Miami-Dade County. It’s the last place he’d ever be locked up. The Murphys’ fun, loving, athletic ray of sunshine took his own life in 2021 after he was handed a chainsaw while on work duty.

The Push for Change

Senator Jennifer Bradley filed Senate Bill 168, the Tristin Murphy Act, which creates model processes for diverting defendants to mental health treatment. It will be discussed during the 2025 Legislative Session, which runs from March 4 to May 2, 2025.

“Tristin was a young father with supportive, loving parents and a bright future ahead of him. He was not a hardened criminal. He was sick and needed help to address serious mental health challenges,” said Senate President Ben Albritton.

“Tristin’s parents have been so brave to tell his story and advocate for improvements to the way offenders with a mental health challenge are treated within the criminal justice system. Learning about Tristin’s story and spending time with his parents, Cindee and Dennis, had a tremendous impact on me. We are proud to move this bill forward with their support,” added Albritton.

The Tristin Murphy Act:

• Establishes probation conditions for defendants with mental illness
• Sets requirements for work assignments and programs
• Expands training options under the criminal justice, mental health and substance abuse reinvestment grant program
• Creates model processes for diverting defendants to mental health treatment
• Creates plan for continued improvement in Florida’s behavioral health system of care

“People who have mental health issues need to be identified early on. I think that’s the most important thing that this bill does. It sets up a model for how counties and county courts should handle criminal justice and recommends screening within 24 hours,” added Cindee Murphy.

The goal would be that if a person does everything they’re supposed to, gets medicated and stabilizes, the charges against them may be dismissed.

“That certainly would have helped Tristin because he was fine while on medication. When he wasn’t on medication, he wasn’t. It would have made a huge difference,” she explained.

If the bill becomes law, it will take effect Oct. 1, 2025.