Whether or not a person arrested for a felony in Florida will go to jail or prison depends on many factors. What makes any criminal offense criminal in nature is the fact that incarceration is possible, whether it be jail or prison.
Every felony offense has a maximum possible sentence and an offense level, which will dictate the minimum mandatory amount of time required to be served in prison.
Some offenses require incarceration, even for first-time offenses, while others do not. Sometimes judges have the discretion not to order incarceration. Other times, they do not. It is always essential to hire an attorney with experience in trying criminal cases of all varieties.