I suppose I should give the back round story first.
I was looking at aftersun lotion at publix and decided to test one by putting a small pea sized amount on my hand. The bottle shot out a glob much larger than I attended almost covering my palm. Instead of doing one of the few things I should have done now that I look back on that day... I started to panic and then decided I wouldn't need to by it now anyway and rubbed it in to my arms and face.

I believe it was the store manager who took me to the office and explained what was going on. He was going on about how it couldn't be sold to customers and cost publix a loss. I asked him if it was about their loss of money I would just buy the bottle. Nope he said something like, that's not the way things work around here. He told me they were going to press charges and needed my info, i.d. ,ect.

Apparently this guy wanted to make an example of me because I was handcuffed in the office then walked out to a cop car to give them my information.

While I was waiting the security camera guy told me not to worry since they don't actually charge me and the manager was just being a dick about it...

Apparently he was wrong.

So now publix sends me a letter saying they are allowed to demand a sum of $200...
Under the Pursuant to the Civil Remedies for Criminal Practices Act, Section 722.11 Florida Statues

It says an amount equal to three times the amount of the property value or a minimum of $200
All of this for a $9.19 bottle of lotion, which I offered to pay for

"Publix wishes to conclude this civil matter as expeditiously as possible with minimum legal and administrative expense."
Fuck these corporate bastards I'm not a thief, but technically I have become one under this law. I was cooperative the whole time they were detaining me. I have no warrants, no other misdemeanor, no felony charges, nothing. I had never seen the back of a cop car before this incident.

I guess my question is do I have any leverage to even work with in this case?
Would publix really go through attorney's fees and court costs to rape me for using a dime of lotion?
Any suggestions of what to do will be very appreciated.

I know what I did can technically be called stealing and was morally dishonest, but COME ON publix. How much does a bottle that retails for 9 bucks really cost them? I couldn't just pay for it? I offered. Also, three times the amount of what I "stole" would be $27.57 so it hardly seems fair to make the minimum amount $200...

All states allow this to happen for cases of shoplifting and concealment. This is a civil demand not a criminal charge. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.