Scott removed her from a case involving Markeith Lloyd, 41, who is charged in the shooting deaths of Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton and his pregnant ex-girlfriend.
“Earlier today, I called on State’s Attorney Ayala to immediately recuse herself from this case,” Gov. Scott said in a statement. “She informed me this afternoon that she refuses to do that. 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.”
Ayala said she will abide by the governor’s order.
Cops hailed Scott’s decision, but death penalty opponents supported Ayala’s stance.
Color of Change called on the governor to reverse his decision and put Ayala back on the case. Some 40,000 Color of Change members have signed a petition calling on Scott to reverse his decision. “Now, she’s facing a careless and disrespectful move from a governor who continues to trample on any real progress towards criminal justice reform—we must have her back to make sure other prosecutors follow in her footsteps,” said Color of Change . Florida’s Black elected officials charged that Scott made a hasty decision by replacing Ayala. They also charged Scott usurped the will of voters who elected her.
There are more than 2,400 elected prosecutors in the United States, 4 percent are Black men and 1 percent are Black women, according to a 2015 study released by the Women’s Donors Network titled “Justice for All. ” In the last year, Color of Change has been campaigning to replace what it considers the nation’s worst prosecutors..
(Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNews Today.com)
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