Lawyers for family members of Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton, Sade Dixon, and other victims expressed support for Gov. Rick Scott’s position in the legal battle over death penalty cases.
A lawyer representing family members of Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton, Sade Dixon, and families of homicide victims in unrelated capital cases expressed support for Gov. Rick Scott’s position in the legal battle over death penalty cases between him and Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala.
Ayala announced in March that she would not seek the death penalty for Markeith Loyd, who is accused of killing Clayton and Dixon, or anyone else.
In response, Scott signed a string of executive orders taking away 23 death penalty cases from her and re-assigning them to Ocala-based State Attorney Brad King.
Ayala sued in April, and advocates on both sides of the death penalty debate have been filing legal briefs with the Florida Supreme Court to make their opinions formally known.
The families’ brief, filed with the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday, did not express an opinion for or against the death penalty or say whether any particular defendant should face capital punishment. Instead it presented a case for consulting families of people killed rather than adopting a blanket policy of never seeking the death penalty, as Ayala did.
“The secondary victims of homicide — those who must deal with the life-long, agonizing terror of a loved one lost to violence — should have their points of view meaningfully heard and substantially valued in the most critical prosecutorial decisions,” wrote Dan Gerber, an Orlando attorney. “The Petitioner’s preemptive strike against secondary victim input for capital punishment silences those with a substantial right to be heard.”
Gerber noted that Ayala has been willing to talk to some of the family members.
“But being allowed to speak is not the same as being heard,” he wrote. “The unfortunate alliance of surviving family members of homicide victims is entitled to heightened attention and respect, not dismissed.”
Reached by phone Friday, Gerber declined to say more about how he got involved with the families, saying he does not normally talk about clients in ongoing cases.
“I’ll just let the brief speak for itself,” he said.
The family members listed are Clayton’s husband, Seth Clayton; Dixon’s mother, Stephanie DixonDaniels; the mother of 5-year-old Darell Avant Jr., who was allegedly killed by his father in 2013; and the aunt of Jasmine Samuel, allegedly abducted and killed by her ex-boyfriend last year.
They also include the daughter of Elena Ortega, the 83-year-old woman whose killer, Juan Rosario, was convicted last week; the mother of 16-year-old Alexandria Chery, whose ex-boyfriend is accused of killing the teenager; and the son of Teresa Green, whose neighbor allegedly killed her in 2003.
The Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association and members of the Florida House of Representatives also filed briefs siding with Scott this week.