Aramis Ayala, Orange-Osceola Attorney, refused to seek the death penalty for Markeith Loyd, who killed Lt. Debra Clayton of the Orlando Police and his own pregnant girlfriend Sade Dixon outside of a Walmart. In response to this, Florida Governor Rick Scott removed the George Soros backed Attorney and reassigned all 21 cases she was overseeing to Republican Ocala-based attorney Brad King.
The move was made under provision provided by the constitution that allows Scott to do so if he believes it’s in the best interest of the state and justice being served in the state. Ayala announced on March 16th that she would not seek the death penalty for any case she oversaw while in office, and the 21 cases that were reassigned to Brad King are all first degree murder cases.
Governor Scott, in a statement, explained that “Each of these cases I am reassigning represents a horrific loss of life. The families who tragically lost someone deserve a state attorney who will take the time to review every individual fact and circumstance before making such an impactful decision.”
Detractors have called for her Governor Scott to remove Ayala from office by arguing that she’s acting against the state’s criminal justice laws. In addition, Florida lawmakers have proposed cutting north of $1 million from the annual budget of Ayalas’ office to pay for the cases that have been reassigned.