Aramis Ayala takes herself completely out of death penalty decisions

Having lost her fight in the Florida Supreme Court to prevent death penalty prosecutions in her circuit, Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala vowed Friday to remove herself  completely from the decision process.

Ayala said her new policy of turning all potential death-penalty cases over to a panel of assistant state attorneys in the 9th Judicial Circuit will include the edict that their decision is final, that she would not influence or overrule what they chose to do with first-degree murder cases

“It is my expectation that going forward all first-degree murder cases that are in my jurisdiction, in the 9th Judicial Circuit, will remain in my office to be evaluated and prosecuted accordingly,” she said. “Just as we ask jurors in order to seek death, this panel will notify me that it is their unanimous decision that a death penalty is to be sought. This panel will begin immediately.”

She described the seven assistant state attorneys she appointed to the panel as all having no personal qualms about the death penalty, and said many of them have worked death penalty prosecutions.

The decision is a complete capitulation of her March 16 declaration that she had deemed Florida’s capital punishment law not just for anyone, and would not use it for murder suspects in Orange and Osceola Counties.

That had led Gov. Rick Scott to strip murder cases away from her and reassign them to State Attorney Brad King in the neighboring Florida’s 5th Judicial Circuit. She challenged his power to do so and lost Thursday in a Florida Supreme Court Ruling that clearly stated Ayala’s policy was in violation of state law.

In a news conference on the steps of the Orange County Courthouse Friday morning, her first since her momentous March 16 press conference, Ayala played the dutiful legal servant, willingly accepting the court’s ruling and moving on.

She said her March 16 declaration was based on her interpretation of Florida law, and now that the Supreme Court ruled her wrong, she would not acknowledge any regrets.

Ayala also ended any interest in re-obtaining the 29 murder cases that Scott reassigned to King. She said moving forward, she excepted the governor would have no reason to take any more cases, but said she would not seek to get back the other 29.

“Although I do believe that, with the implementation of this death-penalty review board, legally, I can request those back from his office. However, I don’t believe it is in the best interest of families of homicide victims or their cases at this point. There is a difference between giving up and letting go. At this time I believe the most compassionate and human response is to allow them to remain with the current prosecutor.”

Late Thursday Scott released a statement that he would not recognize Ayala had changed her position and agreed to take death penalty cases unless and until she completely refuted her ban. On Friday she did so.