Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 4-7-17

State News
Governor Reassigns 21 First-Degree Murder Cases To Special Prosecutor
On Monday, Governor Rick Scott issued executive orders reassigning 21 first-de- gree murder cases in the Ninth Judicial Circuit to State At- torney Brad King. State At- torney Aramis Ayala has been removed from these cases in the interest of justice following her recent decision and public announcement to not consider capital punish- ment during her time in office, regardless of the individ- ual facts and circumstances in any case.
Governor Scott said, “Each of these cases I am reas- signing represents a horrific loss of life. The families who tragically lost someone de- serve a state attorney who will take the time to review every individual fact and circum- stance before making such an impactful decision.”
Scott continued, “State Attorney Ayala’s complete refusal to consider capital punishment for the entirety of her term sends an unaccept- able message that she is not interested in considering every available option in the fight for justice. In the interest of jus- tice, I am using my executive authority today to reassign these cases to State Attorney Brad King. State Attorney King has accepted the duty of
ATTORNEY ARAMIS AYANA
reviewing each case in accor- dance with the law.”
Florida Democratic Party spokesperson Johanna Cer- vone issued the following statement in response to Gov- ernor Rick Scott and the Republicans' political postur- ing that will endanger the safety of Florida families: “Rick Scott’s treatment of State Attorney Aramis Ayala is yet another example of his blatant abuse of power. The Republican legisla- ture is following in Rick Scott’s footsteps by moving to cut $1.3 million from State At- torney Ayala’s budget to prosecute criminals as politi- cal retribution.
“State Attorney Ayala's office is tasked with protecting Florida families by keeping criminals off the streets and the GOP's politically moti- vated cuts mean that there will be more criminals roaming freely and Florida's victims of violent crimes will not receive justice."
State Representative Sean Shaw responded to Governor Scott’s decision to reassign the murder cases.
“Regardless of your opin- ion of the death penalty, the decision by Governor Scott to reassign twenty-one first- degree murder cases away from State Attorney Aramis Ayala is a gross abuse of his power and authority as the state’s Chief Executive.
“State Attorney Ayala was duly elected by the voters of the Ninth Judicial Circuit and her right to exercise pros- ecutorial discretion in the in- terest of justice is not up for debate.
“The Governor is attempt- ing to set dangerous precedent that would destroy the idea of independence for State Attor- neys throughout Florida who must now fear political retri- bution by the state’s most powerful politician if they make a decision he disagrees with.”
Florida’s Vengeful Governor
BY RANDOLPH BRACY Chairman, Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee
ORLANDO --- Gov. Rick Scott of Florida overreached last month when he issued an executive order stripping a state attorney of her authority to prosecute a man charged with killing his pregnant ex- girlfriend and an Orlando po- lice officer. On Monday, he also removed her from 21 other murder cases.
Mr. Scott’s executive or- ders appear to be without precedent in Florida. They are meant to punish the state at- torney, Aramis D. Ayala, Florida’s first Black elected prosecutor, for announcing she would no longer seek the death penalty because it was not in the best interest of her jurisdic- tion, which stretches from Or- lando to Kissimmee.
Ms. Ayala rightly argued that capital punishment does not deter crime, nor does it protect police officers. Instead, it often leads to protracted ap- peals, and rarely delivers clo- sure to the victim’s family. “Punishment is most effective when it happens consistently and swiftly,” she said. “Neither describe the death penalty in this state.”
In retaliation, Governor Scott reassigned the cases to a prosecutor who will most likely seek executions.
This is not just a dispute over the death penalty. It’s also about the governor’s brazen lack of respect for prosecutorial independence, which is critical to the functioning of the legal system. Not only is it unclear whether the governor has the authority to make these reas- signments, but in substituting his judgment for Ms. Ayala’s, he is also sending a dangerous message to prosecutors in Florida that politics will super- sede their discretion.
The governor’s action also got ahead of the normal judi- cial process. Pre-emptively calling the death penalty “jus- tice” wrongly presumes the de- fendants should be executed without consulting the families
of the victims or considering any mitigating evidence about the accused.
Governor Scott must quickly reverse his executive orders. I do not say this lightly. I was appointed to lead the Florida Senate criminal justice committee, a rare privilege for a Democrat in the Republican- controlled legislature. I spon- sored legislation, signed into law last month by Governor Scott, to require a unanimous jury vote for the death penalty, after the Florida and United States Supreme Courts last year struck down Florida’s cap- ital punishment system as un- constitutional.
While I may not agree with Ms. Ayala’s decision to reject the death penalty in all cases, I strongly affirm her right to make that choice.
Florida prosecutors, like all prosecutors, have broad discre- tionary power. That was the central argument in a letter protesting the governor’s over- reach, which was signed by more than 150 prosecutors, judges and law professors. “Florida’s entire criminal jus- tice system is premised on the independence of prosecutors,” they wrote. Ms. Ayala “is solely empowered to make prosecutorial decisions for her circuit.”
Although Ms. Ayala’s crit- ics have denounced her actions as dereliction of duty, they can- not point to a single law or statute that she has violated. That’s because she hasn’t. There are no federal or state laws that say prosecutors must seek death sentences. And the United States Supreme Court has banned all state laws that make executions mandatory for murders.
The governor‘s executive order also undercuts the will of the people who last fall elected Ms. Ayala to serve them. Moreover, a poll last year found that nearly two-thirds of Floridians prefer life imprison- ment over the imposition of the death penalty. So do people who live in Central Florida, where her district is, 58 per- cent to 36 percent.
As a Black man, I see the death penalty as a powerful symbol of injustice in which race often determines who lives and who dies, especially in Florida. The state has the sec- ond-largest number of death row inmates in the country, after California, and African- Americans are grossly overrep- resented on Florida’s death row. This disproportionality
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