Every time Aramis Ayala prosecutes a case from now on, she should publicly ask Gov. Rick Scott what the sentence should be.
After all, if he doesn't like the sentence on the table, he will remove the case and give it to a prosecutor who will go after the one he wants, right?
Markeith Lloyd deserves the death penalty. If he is found guilty of the crimes he is accused of, he should be put to death.
This is according to me.
And before anyone starts with the cries of "you haven't had a family member killed," yes I have. My sister was murdered in 2001, so I know how it feels to have a close family member killed by a maniac, and I still think Gov. Scott was wrong to remove this case from Aramis Ayala.
There is one problem, though.
I don't get to make that call. I'm not the duly elected state attorney for Orange/Osceola County.
That position belongs to Aramis Donel Ayala. She upset Jeff Ashton to win that position.
The voters chose her. She gets to make that call.
That was until Gov. Rick Scott didn't agree with her and decided to penalty-shop.
I would imagine that is an appeal writing itself.
Markeith Lloyd is probably laughing his butt off.
Mrs. Ayala said a death sentence would not result in swift justice and closure for the victims of Markeith Lloyd.
The father of Sade Dixon, one of Lloyd's victims, agrees with her.
Well, Rick Scott helped make sure that not getting swift justice and quick closure would be the case.
Sticking his nose into Ayala's business only helped to keep Lloyd's case going longer before it even got started.
Whether anyone believes in the death penalty, the discretion to seek it belonged to Aramis Ayala.
There is no law that requires her to seek the death penalty, and regardless of the emotion involved, she broke no law in deciding not to seek it.
What has been most amusing to me has been all of these elected officials clutching their pearls, calling for Ayala's resignation, and claiming she isn't doing her job.
Please let me know when the Constitution Revision Commission has inserted the ability for voters to recall elected officials from the governor on down, for not doing what we feel is their job.
Until then, sit down and shut up, because a lot of you elected officials spend quite a bit of time "not doing your jobs" and getting away with it.
Aramis Ayala has said she will accept any LAWFUL order she receives from the governor, even though she laid out her reasons for her decision, and attempted to explain them to the governor.
Lawful is the key word here.
Granted, the governor has discretion to reassign cases but in this case, is his discretion more important than Ayala's?
I think the courts should get involved and determine the battle of discretion.
Im not sure if Ayala will sue, but other organizations such as the ACLU sure as hell should.
It's clear that Rick Scott wants the death penalty for Markeith Lloyd, no matter what.
Perhaps Scott should become a state attorney in his next incarnation instead of a U.S. senator, and then he would be able to make that call, instead of getting into the business of state attorney shopping.
How can the voters trust their elected state attorney when, based on this action by Gov. Scott, there will always be a question, "will he/she be beholden to the governor out of fear of repercussions?
This has now become bigger than a judgment call on the death penalty for me.
It has turned into mob rule, with our governor holding the head pitchfork!
Leslie Wimes, a Sunshine State News columnist, is founder and president of Women on the Move and the Democratic African American Women Caucus, www.daawc.com. Follow Leslie on Twitter: @womenonthemove1.
