Statement on State Attorney Ayala’s Announcement That She Will Not File Any Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty in Future Cases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 16, 2017
CONTACT: Mark Elliott, FADP Director, (727) 215-9646, mark@fadp.org
ORLANDO, FL — On Thursday, March 16, State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial District, Aramis D. Ayala, announced that she will not seek the death penalty in any future capital cases. S.A. Ayala also announced that she would not pursue death sentences for the individuals whose sentences were overturned as a result of the Hurst v. Florida decision. The State Attorney’s office handles cases from Orange and Osceola Counties.
Responding to the announcement, Mark Elliott, director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty stated:
“FADP supports the decision of State Attorney Aramis Ayala to no longer seek the death penalty. This is both smart and tough on crime.”
“State Attorney Ayala demonstrates her steadfast devotion to the safety and well-being of Florida families by shifting the focus to bringing more criminals to justice and preventing violent crimes. Expensive, wasteful, and time-consuming death penalty show trials do nothing to prevent violent crime or help victim’s families in immediate and meaningful ways.”
“Death penalty trials squander huge amounts of limited criminal justice dollars. Trying to enforce the death penalty costs Florida taxpayers an estimated one million dollars a week over and above the cost of sentencing those same people to life in prison with no parole.”
“The recent Florida Supreme Court ruling finds 135-185 Death Row inmates eligible for re-sentencing. If prosecutors insist on re-sentencing these people to death it may cost upwards of $200 million. This comes at a time when funding is scarce for critical criminal justice needs.”
Sent by:
Mark Elliott
Executive Director
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
www.fadp.org
FADP is a non-profit and non-partisan Florida organization of individuals and groups united to abolish the Death Penalty in Florida.