Florida Supreme Court hears death penalty-prosecutor dispute
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press
Jun 28, 2017 11:01 AM CDT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Gov. Rick Scott violated the state constitution by taking 24 murder cases out of the hands of a Florida state attorney who refuses to seek the death penalty, the prosecutor's lawyer told the state Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Attorney Roy Austin said Orlando-area State Attorney Aramis Ayala, a Democrat, is an independently elected official who has the discretion to seek the death penalty or not. He said nothing in Florida law forces her to do so and he knows of no other case where a governor stripped a case from a state attorney without their consent.

"All State Attorney Ayala asks of this court is that this court return those 24 cases to her and treat her the same and with the same respect that is given to every other state attorney in Florida," Austin said.

Florida Solicitor General Amit Angarwal said Ayala has essentially nullified the death penalty in her district and Scott had the right to reassign those cases to a neighboring state attorney.

He said never in Florida history has a state attorney set a blanket policy of refusing to seek the death penalty.

The dispute between Scott and Ayala began in March, when she said she wouldn't seek the death penalty against Markeith Loyd in the fatal shooting of an Orlando police lieutenant and his pregnant ex-girlfriend. She also said she wouldn't seek capital punishment in any other murder case.

Supporters praised Scott for his action while opponents of the death penalty said Ayala did the right thing.

After the arguments, Ayala told reporters, "There are no Florida statutes that required (me) to seek the death penalty. There was no blueprint for me to follow. I did what I believed was proper under Florida law and no laws have been violated."