Florida Prosecutor Sues Gov. Rick Scott After Murder Cases Removal

Florida Prosecutor Sues Gov. Rick Scott After Being Removed From Murder Cases

State Attorney Aramis Ayala filed the lawsuit after she chose not to seek the death penalty in the Markeith Loyd case.

Florida State Attorney Aramis Ayala filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday claiming Gov. Rick Scott violated her constitutional rights by removing her from 23 murder cases after she chose not to seek the death penalty, reports The Huffington Post.

From The Huffington Post:

Ayala is the first elected African-American state attorney in Florida history. She was elected to serve a four-year term in November. “The Governor did not take this drastic step because of any misconduct on Ayala’s part, but simply because he disagreed with her reasoned prosecutorial determination not to seek the death penalty under current circumstances,” said Ayala’s federal complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Ayala made waves in March when she concluded that she would not seek a death sentence for Markeith Loyd, who was indicted for the murders of a pregnant 24-year-old and a police officer in separate incidents in December and January…

Ayala’s lawsuit seeks a declaration that Scott violated the Constitution and that she is the rightful elected prosecutor with discretion to manage these capital prosecutions. Ayala also seeks an order reinstating her to oversee these prosecutions.

Ayala — who based her decision to not seek the death penalty in recent cases including Loyd because of research that it is “racially discriminatory” among other negative things — and her attorney are challenging whether Scott has the legal right to reassign the cases, reports the Orlando Weekly.

SOURCE: The Huffington Post, Orlando Weekly

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