Prosecutor off case for stand on death penalty

ORLANDO — Florida’s governor took a case involving the killing of a police officer out of the hands of its prosecutor Thursday, hours after the prosecutor announced that her office would no longer seek the death penalty in any cases.

The unusual and firm stance against capital punishment by State Attorney Aramis Ayala in Orlando surprised and angered many law enforcement officials, including the city’s police chief, who believed suspect Markeith Loyd should face the possibility of execution. Civil liberties groups praised Ayala’s position.

Sending a signal that he wanted Loyd prosecuted in a capital case, Gov. Rick Scott signed an order to transfer Loyd’s first-degree murder case to State Attorney Brad King in a neighboring district northwest of Orlando. Loyd is charged with killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton.

Ayala said she made the decision after conducting a review and concluding that there is no evidence to show that imposing the death penalty improves public safety for citizens or law enforcement.

Ayala was elected last fall in a judicial district that has gone from being moderately conservative to liberal over the past two decades.

“I have given this issue extensive, painstaking thought and consideration,” Ayala said at a news conference. “What has become abundantly clear through this process is that while I do have discretion to pursue death sentences, I have determined that doing so is not in the best interests of this community or in the best interests of justice.”

Buddy Jacobs, general counsel for the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association for more than four decades, said no other prosecutor in recent memory has opted out of seeking the death penalty.

After Ayala announced her decision, Scott asked her to recuse herself from the case, but she refused. The reassignment applies only to Loyd’s case and not Ayala’s other duties. Under Florida law, a governor can only suspend an elected official for “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence, or permanent inability to perform official duties.”

Florida law allows a governor to reassign a case for “good and sufficient” reasons.

“She has made it clear that she will not fight for justice and that is why I am using my executive authority to immediately reassign the case,” Scott said.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina said in a statement that he was “extremely upset” over Ayala’s decision.

“The heinous crimes that [Loyd] committed in our community are the very reason that we have the death penalty as an option under the law,” Mina said.