• What Happened: Governor DeSantis signed Missy's Law Tuesday and called on the Florida House to impeach Leon County Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper, who released convicted sex offender Daniel Spencer on bond before sentencing. Spencer later murdered his 5-year-old stepdaughter Missy Mogle.
  • Why It Matters: Republicans hold an 85-34 supermajority in the Florida House, well above the two-thirds needed to impeach. If Baker-Carper is impeached or resigns, DeSantis names her replacement.
  • Bottom Line: A little girl is dead because a judge let a predator walk. DeSantis is done asking nicely.

A five-year-old girl named Missy Mogle is dead. Her killer was a convicted sex offender a Florida judge chose to leave on the streets. On Tuesday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law named after Missy and then turned to the cameras and called for the judge's impeachment.

"To my friends in the Florida House of Representatives, I don't think what you've done is enough," DeSantis said at a Tampa press conference. "You have the power, and you have sufficient numbers in your chamber, to impeach this judge, Tiffany Baker-Carper. Until you start holding these judges accountable, they are gonna continue to find ways to benefit the criminal element."

The case is as straightforward as it is heartbreaking. Daniel Spencer, 35, was convicted in an underage sex sting for attempting to meet a 15-year-old girl. Prosecutors asked Judge Baker-Carper to remand him into custody immediately after the verdict. She refused, citing the fact that Spencer had been out of jail for a year without violations and had no violent criminal history. She let him go home.

One month later, Spencer and Missy's mother Chloe Spencer beat and asphyxiated the little girl to death at their Tallahassee home. Both were charged with first-degree murder. The state is seeking the death penalty for both. Spencer's murder trial is scheduled for June.

"What happened in between that decision and the time he was sentenced, he murdered Missy," DeSantis said. "Totally preventable. A miscarriage of justice. A dereliction of judicial duty. If we had this bill in place then, Missy would be alive today."

The bill DeSantis signed Tuesday is Missy's Law, House Bill 455, which requires judges to immediately revoke bond and hold defendants in custody after conviction for dangerous, violent, or sexual crimes. It takes effect July 1, 2026. Attorney General James Uthmeier, who made the bill a priority, was direct about what it represents. "Missy died because Judge Baker didn't put Spencer behind bars where he belonged."

The path to impeachment is clear. Republicans hold an 85-34 supermajority in the Florida House, well above the two-thirds majority required. An impeachment would then go to the Senate, where Republicans also hold more than the two-thirds needed to remove her. Baker-Carper was elected in 2020 and became the youngest woman and youngest Black candidate elected judge in Florida's Second Judicial Circuit. If she is impeached or resigns, DeSantis names her replacement.

Impeachments of judges are rare in Florida but not without precedent. In 2017, the House took initial steps toward impeaching two judges over misconduct. One resigned before his hearing took place.

DeSantis has spent years fighting what he calls activist judges. This is the first time he has called for one's impeachment by name. It comes days after President Trump publicly called for a federal judge to be impeached as well.

"Until we start holding these judges accountable, they are going to continue to find ways to benefit the criminal element," DeSantis said. "This was an outrage. This should have been such an easy call."

Missy Mogle was five years old. She deserved better. So does every child in Florida.