Orange and Osceola County Chief Assistant State Attorney Deborah Barra says she’s running to be state attorney in the Ninth Circuit.
That’s after her boss Aramis Ayala announced she won’t seek re-election.
Ayala cited her opposition to the death penalty as her reason for not seeking re-election. But Barra says she would seek capital punishment in some cases.
Barra says she would continue with Ayala’s death penalty panel-a group of legal experts who determine when the punishment should be pursued.
"I have seen that it is effective. That we have sought the death penalty repeatedly since it’s been enacted. But we have also chosen not to seek the death penalty because it wasn’t appropriate."
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And when the panel approves the death penalty she says it will be pursued.
"There are people out there who fit that harshest penalty category. And it will be used in that manner. It will be used sparingly. But it will be used."
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Ayala was the state’s first African-American state attorney. Assistant State Attorney Ryan Williams and defense attorney Kevin Morenski also have entered the race.
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