# Prosecutor opposed to death penalty has cases removed by Governor. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 4, 2017, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prosecutor-opposed-to-death-penalty-has-cases-removed-by-governor/783719 "2017-04-04T08:13:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prosecutor-opposed-to-death-penalty-has-cases-removed-by-governor/783719/1 "2017-04-04T08:13:41Z")
[Florida governor reassigns 21 more murder cases as part of death-penalty dispute with prosecutor](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/04/03/florida-governor-reassigns-21-more-murder-cases-as-part-of-death-penalty-dispute-with-prosecutor/) > [@](#): > > Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday that he was removing a state attorney from about two dozen murder cases, escalating a dispute between the two officials over the death penalty in one of the country’s most active capital-punishment states. > > The announcement from Scott, a Republican, came a little more than two weeks after Aramis D. Ayala, a Democratic state attorney elected last year, announced that she would no longer seek the death penalty in cases. In response, Scott swiftly said he was removing Ayala from the prosecution of a man charged with killing an Orlando police officer, the most high-profile case under her jurisdiction. > [@](#): > > Ayala is responsible for a stretch of central Florida encompassing Orange and Osceola counties, a region that includes Orlando and is among the state’s most populous areas. She had said she came to her decision regarding the death penalty after researching the issue and concluding that it does not make police officers safer and noting that sentences are often followed by an extended appeals process, offering families only a “false promise” of closure. First a question. Has this prosecutor overstepped the bounds of her office? If she has not then the subject of debate is whether deciding such matters on a universal basis rather than case by case is the right thing to do. I myself feel that it is not, that Ayala is placing her own opinions and sensitivities above the law. Florida has a death penalty and even though that penalty is under judicial review it is still the law of the land. In some cases a prosecutor may think it uncalled for, in others he or she may think it appropriate but to decide in advance that the penalty will not be sought in any and all cases that fall under your purview is in effect to change the law yourself and abolish the death penalty in your district. That can’t be right. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prosecutor-opposed-to-death-penalty-has-cases-removed-by-governor/783719/2 "2017-04-04T13:37:46Z")
I believe we have done a thread on this before. As I see it, the people of the state of Florida want the death penalty to be an option in general, and in particular in the cop-killing case you mentioned. The prosecutor has decided that she will not pursue the DP no matter what. I believe she waffled on the subject during her election campaign, therefore to some degree she was elected under false pretenses. The governor is acting more in accordance with the will of the people of Florida, by removing her from DP-possible cases. I don’t know the law, but I suspect both the governor and the prosecutor are acting within their discretion as elected officials. Morally, the governor is in the right and the prosecutor is wrong. Hopefully this can be resolved by the prosecutor resigning, or getting kicked out in the next election, and being replaced by someone who will act in accordance with the will of the people of Florida. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prosecutor-opposed-to-death-penalty-has-cases-removed-by-governor/783719/3 "2017-04-04T13:58:59Z")
I did a search but came up empty, maybe I should have widened my search terms beyond Ayala. Thanks, **Shodan** , both for the answer and the heads-up. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prosecutor-opposed-to-death-penalty-has-cases-removed-by-governor/783719/4 "2017-04-04T14:20:34Z")
Here’s the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=821794&highlight=Shodan+Florida), FWIW. Regards, Shodan