Florida prosecutor agrees to seek death penalty in future

A Florida prosecutor who fought and lost a battle with the governor over her decision not to seek the death penalty said Friday that she will comply with a state Supreme Court decision and seek it in future cases if it is unanimously recommended by a panel of her assistant prosecutors.

State Attorney Aramis Ayala made her announcement a day after the state’s high court upheld Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s power to reassign her first-degree murder cases to another prosecutor.

The Orlando-area state attorney said a seven-member review panel of assistant state attorneys in her office will review all first-degree murder cases and then recommend to her which cases warrant seeking the death penalty.

Ayala said she won’t have a say in the decisions the seven members come up with.

“I have vested my authority into the review panel and I have no intention of usurping the authority which I granted,” Ayala said from the steps of the Orange County Courthouse.

She said that if the review panel, comprised of six prosecuting attorneys along with the assigned state attorney, reaches a unanimous decision to seek the death penalty she will accept their recommendation. She said the panel includes attorneys who have sought the death penalty in past cases and are not opposed to pursuing capital punishment going forward.

It’s not clear, however, if Scott will go along with the new arrangement.

Ayala and Scott have been entangled in a power struggle since she said in March she would not consider seeking the death penalty in any homicide case.