![Prosecutor George Bateh speaks with the media after a hearing in Kenneth Hartley's murder case. [contributed by News4Jax video archives]](https://i0.wp.com/floridatrib.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-04-24-at-10.17.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
George Bateh was good at putting people on Death Row. Whether that was the work of a righteous prosecutor or a sneaky courtroom tactician is a question at the heart of the legacy he left behind after more than 30 years in the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
Tag: Northeast Florida
Posted inFlorida
How a Florida prosecutor fixed a ‘weak’ case using a liar and 3 jailhouse snitches to send a man to Death Row
The Tributary’s ‘Cold-Blooded’ series is a seven-month investigation unraveling the 1993 murder prosecution that sent a man to Death Row on the word of a known liar and three jailhouse informants.
Posted inFlorida
JSO settles lawsuit in strip-search arrest that broke department policy
A man who was improperly stripped searched by police in the middle of a public street while bystanders watched nearby settled a federal lawsuit with Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters and the city for $275,000, according to court records.
Posted inFlorida
After scrutiny, JSO adds medical staff to Duval jail to bolster inmate care
The National Commission on Correctional Health Care lifted the probationary status of the John E. Goode Pretrial Detention Facility in June, according to documents The Tributary received in a records request, which shed light on efforts JSO has not publicized to improve conditions in the aging jail.
Posted inFlorida
Jacksonville police and fire pension debt tops $3 billion, surging city costs
Jacksonville City Hall’s debt to the Police and Fire Pension Fund now tops $3 billion, one of its worst conditions in the past quarter century, which will require taxpayers to cover a mammoth $201 payment later this year.
Posted inFlorida
Multi-million dollar land swap would make once-obscure developer major downtown player
A new proposal, which city officials will weigh in the coming weeks, could make Alex Sifakis and a joint venture he backs, Gateway Jax, among the most crucial players in downtown Jacksonville’s future.
Posted inFlorida
Family of heart patient who died after Duval jail stay settles lawsuit
The family of a 54-year-old heart-transplant patient who died after a short stay in the Duval County jail settled a federal lawsuit over his death for $300,000.
Posted inFlorida
JSO officers sic K9 on unarmed man, prompting federal lawsuit
A Jacksonville man is suing the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and three officers, arguing his constitutional rights were violated during a traffic stop when one of those officers sicced a K9 on him and forced him to crawl back to the handler before releasing the dog from his maimed right arm.
Posted inFlorida
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters settles lawsuit in mother of five’s jail suicide death
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters and a corrections officer have settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of a woman who killed herself in the Duval County Pretrial Detention Facility after multiple suicide attempts.
Posted inFlorida
Duval jail reports fewer deaths in first full year under new medical provider
A year after changing medical providers, Duval County jail officials reported a more than 50% decrease in the amount of incarcerated people who died in the facility.