Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 15, 2018

Though much of the talk from elected officials and politicians in the wake of Wednesday’s mass shooting in Parkland has been of increased mental health screening and “school hardening,” there will be a legal case against Nikolas Cruz who killed 17 people at his old high school. Cruz made his first court appearance Thursday, and was […]

Scott PowersJanuary 16, 2018

Republican state Rep. Bob Cortes called on Gov. Rick Scott Tuesday to reassign a “heinous” murder-for-hire prosecution case away from State Attorney Aramis Ayala of Orlando – but her office basically shrugged off the lawmaker’s demand, contending that Scott no longer has any reason to remove cases from her review. “The author of the letter […]

Jim RosicaDecember 26, 2017

Spoiler alert: If you’re a regular of this site, and reading this story, you can guess what the #1 pick is. Otherwise, 2017 still offered a bounty of material to Tallahassee’s reporting ranks. We still chuckle at the uninitiated who ask, “What do you write about when the Legislature isn’t in session?” Without further ado, […]

Scott PowersDecember 12, 2017

The ongoing conflict between Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala and Gov. Rick Scott over her death penalty policies took another turn as Ayala cut a murder deal with a suspect that avoids a death penalty then answered the governor’s questions by asking her own questions. Scott and Ayala, state attorney for Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit, […]

Scott PowersDecember 4, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott‘s administration upped the pressure on Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala with a letter Monday demanding answers on why she apparently missed a deadline for filing notice of a death penalty case and accusing her of possible “willful disregard” of the law. The letter from Scott’s general counsel Daniel Nordby might be setting […]

Scott PowersNovember 20, 2017

New twists in the battle between Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala and Gov. Rick Scott after she agreed to prosecute death penalty cases; Scott is accusing her of missing a filing deadline, and Ayala responding Monday that Scott missed the case, and it will still be filed for capital punishment. “It is absolutely outrageous that Aramis […]

Scott PowersOctober 12, 2017

Eight months after she lit statewide firestorm debates over the death penalty and Florida government separation of powers, and five weeks after she lost those debates in the Florida Supreme Court, Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala appears at peace. Speaking with a gathering of journalists Thursday morning, the controversial, still-new state attorney for Florida’s 9th […]

Associated PressSeptember 28, 2017

airport-shooter-06.10-Large-e1497098948793.jpg

Lawyers for an Alaska man charged with killing five people and wounding six in a Florida airport mass shooting say he remains mentally fit to proceed in the case. A status hearing is set Thursday in Miami federal court for 27-year-old Esteban Santiago of Anchorage, Alaska, who’s being treated for schizophrenia. His lawyers say in […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 1, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott set the execution of Michael Lambrix, who’s been on Death Row for 33 years, for 6 p.m. Oct. 5, the Governor’s Office announced Friday. The Florida Supreme Court last February delayed his execution after attorneys argued that the state should first determine how to apply a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the state’s death penalty […]

Scott PowersSeptember 1, 2017

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 […]

Tag: death penalty

Pam Bondi: Parkland massacre ‘will be a death penalty case’

Bob Cortes calls for Rick Scott to take murder-for-hire case from Aramis Ayala

Jim Rosica’s review of top state government stories of 2017

After cutting murder plea deal, Aramis Ayala demands answers from Rick Scott

Governor’s office accuses Aramis Ayala of negligence, possible ‘willful disregard’

Rick Scott, Aramis Ayala battle over missed deadlines in death penalty cases

Aramis Ayala moving on after losing death penalty battle

Lawyers: Florida airport shooting suspect still mentally fit

Rick Scott sets date for next Florida execution

Aramis Ayala takes herself completely out of death penalty decisions