florida state attorney who will not seek the death penalty
by Mrs. Janae Conn DVM
Published 2 years ago
Updated 1 year ago
6 min read
Officials Disappointed with State Attorney
There were many disappointed people when Ayala announced earlier in the day that she would not seek the death penalty against Loyd, or anyone else for that matter. Her controversial declaration created a firestorm of criticism. “I have determined that doing so is not in the best interest of th…
Conversely, death penalty opponents with the NAACP and a coalition of Orlando-area civil rights activists and religious leaders applauded the move. State law does not require Ayala to seek the death penalty. But on egregious cases such as this, there is an expectation that prosecutors would pursue this option under the law.
Ayala defeated her former boss, incumbent Jeff Ashton in the primary election. She has been in office since Jan. 3. Listening to Ashton, politics appear to be driving this decision. According to the Sentinel report, Ayala received $1.4 million in donations from a political action committee with ties to billionaire George Soros, a liberal activist. Since no Republican entered the race, the prima…
Both Orlando’s chief of police, John Mina, and Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings expressed their disappointment in Ayala’s decision. Mina told the Sentinel the death penalty is a deterrent for crime. “In the heat of the moment is the person thinking about that, probably not,” he said. “But in society there has to be consequences for heinous crimes and the death penalty is one of those …