MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS
Caucus decries him for removing Ayala from Loyd case
condemn Gov. Rick Scott’s decision to remove Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala from the prosecution of Markeith Loyd.
TALLAHASSEE — Members of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus slammed Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday for removing Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala from the Markeith Loyd case because she won’t seek the death penalty.
“Governor Scott’s hasty response to State Attorney Ayala’s announcement set a dangerous precedent and is a slap in the face of the voters who carried her into office,” said Sen. Perry Thurston, DFort Lauderdale, chairman of the Black Caucus. “In this way, [his] order operates as little more than an unfettered and uninformed power grab by the governor’s office over a difference of opinion.”
He asked Scott to rescind his order removing Ayala, the state’s first African-American state attorney. But the governor refused. “Governor Scott stands by his decision to assign State Attorney Brad King to prosecute Markeith Loyd after State Attorney Ayala refused to recuse herself,” Scott spokeswoman Kerri Wyland wrote in an email. “As Governor Scott has continued to say, these families deserve a state attorney who will aggressively prosecute Loyd to the fullest extent of the law and justice must be served.”
Loyd is accused of killing Sade Dixon, his pregnant exgirlfriend, in December, and Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton in January while on the run from authorities.
When Ayala said she would not seek the death penalty for Loyd or in any other case, Scott replaced her on the case with State Attorney Brad King of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, which covers Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion and Sumter counties.
During a hearing Monday, Ayala asked for a delay in proceedings while she considers whether to challenge Scott’s order. King on Wednesday filed a motion asking the judge to deny her request.
Ayala’s declaration that she