Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 3-21-17

Local Government
Representative Sean Shaw Files Legislation To Prevent Civil Rights Being Taken Away From Non-Violent Felons
State Attorney’s Decision In Murder Case Angers Officials: Gov. Removes Her
Tallahassee, FL - Repre- sentative Sean Shaw (D- Tampa) has filed HB 177 to ensure that non-violent felons do not have their civil rights suspended as an ele- ment of their sentence.
Under current law, those who are convicted of any felony lose the right to vote, the right to sit on a jury, the right to hold public office, and the right to possess a firearm, unless they are granted the restoration of their civil rights by the state Office of Executive Clemency. If enacted, this bill would end the suspension of civil rights for those convicted of a non- violent felony.
Florida accounts for more than 25% of the people disen- franchised by this law nation- wide, far more than any other state. This bill would make necessary changes to a sys- tem that currently deprives 1.7 million Floridians, about 10% of our citizens, the right
REP. SEAN SHAW
to vote.
“Even if the sentence has
been served, a felony convic- tion in the State of Florida is a lifelong punishment,” as- serted Representative Shaw. “It is unreasonable to expect someone to fully rein- tegrate back into society when they are being treated as a second class citizen. If we are serious about sustaining a fair system of justice, we must send a message that if a person is convicted of a non- violent crime, their rights won’t be permanently taken away.”
STATE ATTORNEY ARAMIS AYALA ...9th Judicial Circuit
A newly elected State At- torney came under fire last Thursday after she an- nounced she would not seek the death penalty in a murder case.
Attorney Aramis Ayala, State Attorney for Or- ange-Osceola Counties said she had conducted extensive research on the death penalty and had found several rea- sons why she won’t pursue it.
According to Attorney Ayala, her research shows that death has no safety ben- efits for the public or law en- forcement, costs more than a life sentence and generally does not work as a deterrent because it’s used too rarely.
Her decision came about in the case of 41-year-old Markeith Loyd, who is ac- cused of killing his pregnant girlfriend, Sade Dixon, on December 13th, and executing Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton, on January 9th. He is also accused of critically in- juring Ms. Dixon’s brother, Ronald Stewart, as well as 2 charges of carjacking, and shooting at other police offi- cers.
He was captured after a 9- day manhunt in January 2017.
After hearing State At- torney Ayala’s decision not to seek the death penalty, Governor Rick Scott is- sued a press release stating, “I want to be very clear, Lt. Debra Clayton was exe- cuted while she was laying on the ground fighting for her life. She was killed by an evil murderer who did not think twice about senselessly end- ing her life. I completely dis- agree with State Attorney Ayala’s decision and com- ments and I am asking her to recuse herself immediately from this case.
“She has made it abun- dantly clear that she will not fight for justice for Lt.
Debra Clayton and our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi released the following statement about State Attor- ney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Aramis Ayala’s an- nouncement.
“State Attorney Aramis Ayala’s decision today sends a dangerous message to resi- dents and visitors of the greater Orlando area—fur- thermore, it is a blatant neg- lect of duty and a shameful failure to follow the law as a constitutionally elected offi- cer.”
Orlando Police Chief John Mina said, “If there was any a case for the death penalty, this is the case. I’ve seen the video, so I know the state attorney has seen the video of (Loyd) standing over defenseless and helpless Lt. Debra Clayton and exe- cuting her.”
However, Attorney Ayala has also received sup- port in making the decision.
Adora Obi Nweze,
President, Florida State Con- ference NAACP, said it was a step in the right direction.
“Ending use of the death penalty in Orange County is a step toward restoring a meas- ure of trust and integrity in our criminal justice system,” she said.
Brian Empric, of Win- dermere, Past Vice-Chairman of the Florida Federation of Young Republicans said he disagreed with Ayala on some ideological issues, but, “I applaud her decision to avoid seeking death sen- tences during her term. I be- lieve that we should value life and ensure that tax dollars are spent efficiently, but the death penalty does neither. It inherently devalues life, risks killing the innocent, and costs far more than the alter-
natives.” National
MARKEITH LOYD ...Accused of killing pregnant girlfriend and police officer
SADE DIXON ... Allegedly killed by Markeith Loyd
LT. DEBRA CLAYTON ...Killed on January
9th
anti-death penalty activist, Sister Helen Prejean, who be- came well known after her book “Dead Man Walk- ing,” said Ayala used “her discretion wisely by ending death penalty trials in Or-
lando,” on twitter.
Governor Removes State Attorney
On Thursday afternoon, Governor Scott issued Ex- ecutive Order 17-66 to re- moving State Attorney Ayala from the case of Markeith Loyd. He had called on her earlier in the day to recuse herself and she refused. Governor Scott reassigned the case to State Attorney Brad King.
Governor Scott said, “I called on State Attorney Ayala to immediately recuse herself from this case. She in- formed me this afternoon that she refuses to do that. She has made it clear that she will not fight for justice and that is why I am using my ex- ecutive authority to immedi- ately reassign the case to State Attorney Brad King.
“Let’s remember, Markeith Loyd is accused of executing a brave law en- forcement hero and murder- ing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon. Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Norman Lewis was also killed while actively searching for Markeith Loyd following these heinous murders. I am out- raged and sickened by this loss of life and many families’ lives have been forever changed because of these senseless murders. These families deserve a state attor- ney who will aggressively prosecute Markeith Loyd to the fullest extent of the law and justice must be served.”
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2017