TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s governor has taken two more capital murder cases from a prosecutor who is opposed to the death penalty.
Gov. Rick Scott signed executive orders Wednesday reassigning the cases from Orlando State Attorney Aramis Ayala to a prosecutor in a neighboring district.
State Attorney Aramis Ayala talks to reporters after her lawyer asked the Florida Supreme Court to return 24 murders cases Gov. Rick Scott reassigned to another prosecutor because Ayala won’t seek the death penalty. The court heard arguments Wednesday, June 28, 2017, in Tallahassee, Fla. Photo: AP Photo/Brendan Farrington.
State Attorney Brad King’s office will handle a new sentencing for Jermaine Foster, who was previously sentenced to death following a 1994 murder conviction. The office will also prosecute Robert Cardin, who is charged with killing his elderly mother and brother in May.
Scott, a Republican, began taking cases away from Ayala, a Democrat, after her March announcement that she would no longer seek the death penalty. They argued the legality of this before the Florida Supreme Court in June, but no decision has been announced.