ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Florida prosecutor says she will comply with a state Supreme Court decision and seek the death penalty in future cases if it is unanimously recommended by a panel of her assistant prosecutors.
Orlando-area state attorney Aramis Ayala previously announced she would stop seeking the death penalty altogether. An angry Republican Gov. Rick Scott reassigned her death penalty-eligible cases to another state prosecutor. The governor's move was upheld by the court Thursday. The court said Ayala was wrong to have a blanket policy of not seeking the death penalty. During a Friday news conference Friday Ayala said she'll appoint a panel of seven prosecutors to decide whether to seek death on a case-by-case basis. She said some members of the panel have supported the death penalty in the past.