Entries tagged with “Aramis Ayala”
Policy Issues
Race
,New Voices
,Mar 23, 2017
Florida Black Caucus, Victim’s Parents Urge Governor to Rescind Order Removing Prosecutor For Not Seeking Death Penalty
The Florida Legislative Black Caucus has joined more than 100 lawyers and legal experts and the parents of murder victim Sade Dixon in urging Governor Rick Scott to rescind his order removing Orange-Osceola County State Attorney Aramis Ayala (pictured) from a high-profile double murder case in which she decided to not seek the death penalty. The other victim in the case, Lt. Debra Clayton, was an Orlando police officer. Governor Scott did not speak with…
Facts & Research
New Voices
,Mar 17, 2017
Florida Prosecutor Announces She Will No Longer Seek Death Sentences, Governor Moves to Exclude Her From Police-Killing Case
Saying that pursuing the death penalty “is not in the best interests of this community or in the best interests of justice,” Orange-Osceola County, Florida State Attorney Aramis Ayala (pictured) announced on March 16 that her office would not seek the death penalty while she is State…
Policy Issues
Race
,Sentencing Data
,Aug 31, 2017
Florida Supreme Court Upholds Removal of Prosecutor From Death-Eligible Cases
The Florida Supreme Court has upheld Governor Rick Scott’s (pictured, left) removal of Orange and Osceola County State Attorney Aramis Ayala (pictured, right) as prosecutor in more than two dozen murder cases because of her official policy not to seek to seek the death penalty. Over two dissents, the seven-member Court held that Scott had acted “well within the bounds of the Governor’s broad authority” when he replaced Ayala with Lake County…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Oct 31, 2022
Florida Trial Court Conditionally Approves DNA Testing for Tommy Ziegler in 46-Year-Old Death Penalty Case
In what the Tampa Bay Times described as “an epic turnaround” in a 46-year-old capital case, a Florida trial judge is poised to order DNA testing of evidence death-row prisoner Tommy Zeigler has long asserted will prove him innocent of the quadruple murder for which he was convicted and sentenced to death in…
Policy Issues
Arbitrariness
,Sentencing Data
,Apr 04, 2017
In Expanding Dispute Over Death Penalty, Florida Governor Orders Replacement of Local Prosecutor in 21 Murder Cases
Florida Governor Rick Scott issued a series of executive orders on April 3 removing locally elected 9th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Aramis Ayala (pictured) from 21 first-degree murder cases and replacing her with 5th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brad King. The removal comes two weeks after Ayala announced a policy that her office would not pursue the death penalty in murder prosecutions. The cases include a number of potential capital…
Facts & Research
Recent Legislative Activity
,Aug 19, 2020
In Move Raising Race, Gender, and Political Issues, Missouri Governor Seeks Authority for Attorney General to Prosecute St. Louis Homicide Cases
In a political maneuver that further injected issues of race, gender, and political disenfranchisement into local law enforcement policy, Missouri’s Republican Governor Mike Parson has asked state lawmakers to grant Republican state attorney general Eric Schmitt authority to prosecute murder cases in the city of St. Louis. The proposal targeted cases that are currently under the exclusive purview of Democratic St. Louis City Circuit…