A prosecutor in Florida fired back at Governor Rick Scott's actions to take 21 criminal cases from her after she explained her office would no longer seek the death penalty in court. On Tuesday, District Attorney Aramis Ayala filed federal court lawsuits, challenging Scott's ability to remove her from death row cases in the district. The complaint says Scott overstepped his boundaries. It asks the judges to also declare her the actual prosecutor in the cases taken away from her. If the justices won't do this immediately, the lawsuit demands that they stop moving cases from Ayala's office until the state court decides whether Scott's actions were justifiable or if they violated the state constitution.
What the suit entails
Ayala's litigation claims Rick Scott dishonored the U. S. Constitution by ignoring the Orlando voters' choice to appoint her as their District Attorney. The court document further states that the governor also violated Ayala's right to due process under the 14th amendment. It states, "Prior to Ayala's career as Florida's District Attorney, she was willing to consider capital punishment in her prosecutions. Even though Florida law acknowledges prosecutors' rights to grant the death penalty, the state's Consitution and criminal statutes do not require them to do so."
Roy Austin, Ayala's attorney, has been asking the high courts to halt any actions against the complaint until the litigation settles.
Austin is a high-profile addition to the prosecutors' battle against Rick Scott. He believes the governor's actions are unprecedented. Along with her lawyer, Aramis has support from other legal authorities and civil rights activists from all across the U.S.
She mentioned she would consider changing her decision only if the system surrounding death row changes.
Ayala doesn't want capital punishment to drag out for years or hold off closure for victims' families.
Scott's response to Ayala
On Tuesday when asked about Ayala, Rick Scott reported, "I just believe every resident deserves a district attorney that is going to prosecute cases entirely." When questioned about the lawsuits specifically, Scott mentioned he hadn't reviewed either one of them. He then continued to repeat that he opposed her decision not to consider the death penalty in Court Cases. He said, "I am going to take into consideration the victims and their families."
