Ayala sought advice about death penalty
Even as her office said it was planning to seek the death penalty in six cases, Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala received advice in February from organizations that are against capital punishment about how to avoid discussing the issue, her emails show.
Ayala — who did not speak about her position on the death penalty while she ran against incumbent State Attorney Jeff Ashton — announced on March 16 that she will not seek capital punishment against anyone, using phrasing sent to her by an anti-death penalty organization.
An infographic sent to Ayala by Stefanie Faucher of the 8th Amendment Project says: “The death penalty traps victims’ families in a decades-long cycle of uncertainty, court hearings, and waiting.”
Ayala’s remarks on March 16 used almost identical phrasing.
“Some victims will support, and some will surely oppose my decision,” she said during a press conference. “But I
Aramis Ayala’s spokeswoman, Eryka Washington, said the newly elected state attorney had been speaking with groups to form a position regarding the death penalty.
learned that the death penalty traps many victims in a decades-long cycle of uncertainty, court hearings, appeals and waiting.”
Ayala’s spokeswoman, Eryka Washington, said Tuesday that the newly elected state attorney had been speaking with various groups to try and form a position regarding the death penalty.
A California-based attorney for another antideath penalty group advised Ayala in a Feb. 14 email to be careful with her public statements with regard to the case of Markeith Loyd, who is accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton.
“In addressing the upcoming case, I think it is important to not say anything that will create push back or counter pressure before you are ready to announce, while also being careful to not say anything that could be viewed as counter to what you later end up rolling out,” wrote Miriam Krinsky, executive director of the organization Fair and Just Prosecution.
“… To the extent possible, try to stay away from specifics without sounding evasive. Just keep coming back to your message — you will consult with staff, look at the law and also talk with key impacted individuals,” the email said.
Krinsky, a former federal prosecutor, is now an advocate of reforming the justice system.
When Ayala spoke with Krinsky in February, Washington said, Ayala “was not ready to come out with a definitive answer because she was still researching and reading and thinking about the issue.”
But by mid-March, after the governor signed a bill that replaced the state’s previous and unconstitutional death penalty statute, “Her decision had evolved,” Washington said.
Ayala has gotten praise from liberal and antideath penalty groups. But her decision received scorn from law enforcement organizations, as well as allegations that she was influenced by a $1 million campaign donation from philanthropist George Soros, who opposed capital punishment. Ayala has repeatedly denied the donation caused her to change her mind.
Her emails show no evidence that she spoke with Soros or his team directly using her official email account after she took office.
Since Ayala’s announcement, Gov. Rick Scott has taken 23 death penalty cases, including Loyd’s, away from Ayala and assigned them to State Attorney Brad King, whose circuit covers Marion and Lake counties, among others. Ayala is fighting the decision in court.
Ayala’s emails were released after a public records request. They show Ayala spoke with a group of clergy members who support the death penalty and had long conversations with Chief Assistant State Attorney Deborah Barra, who supports capital punishment, as well.
This week, Barra is one of three attorneys from Ayala’s office prosecuting the death penalty trial of Juan Rosario, who is accused of bludgeoning his elderly neighbor to death, then setting her house on fire. Scott re-assigned the case to King, who is overseeing the prosecution. It is the first death penalty case to go to trial since Ayala took office.