Florida Supreme Court justices on Wednesday weighed how much power Florida law gives prosecutors and the governor when it comes to the death penalty.
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala challenged Gov. Rick Scott after he reassigned 24 of her cases because Ayala announced her office would no longer be seeking the death penalty for any defendant. The announcement was tied to the particularly grisly case of Markeith Loyd, charged with killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and a police officer, and comes after two years of changes to and questions about Florida’s death penalty law.
