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Ayala fires back, seeking information from Gov. Scott on death penalty cases taken from her office

One week after Gov. Rick Scott sent a letter to State Attorney Aramis Ayala demanding information about a missed death penalty case filing, she shot back Monday, requesting information of her own.
Scott sent the original letter after it was determined that Ayala failed to file a motion to seek the death penalty in the case of Emerita Mapp, who was accused of killing one man and injuring another at a Kissimmee Days Inn.
The prosecutorial conflict between Ayala and Scott started earlier in the year when Ayala announced she would not seek the death penalty in any case prosecuted by her office.
Scott responded by removing numerous potential death penalty cases from Ayala’s office and reassigning them to another state attorney.
Scott’s office had requested information as to why the 45-day deadline to file an intent to seek the death penalty in Mapp’s case was missed.
On Friday, Mapp took a plea deal to avoid the death penalty and was given a life sentence, which makes the governor’s request moot, Ayala said in a letter Monday.
Despite that, Ayala told Scott in the letter that she had been in direct communication with Attorney General Pam Bondi about the issue and was confident she could have sought the death penalty in Mapp’s case, despite the missed deadline.
Her office could have re-arraigned Mapp, which would have reset the 45-day deadline, Ayala argued.
Scott had also requested information on Ayala’s death penalty review panel, which she created to determine which cases prosecuted by her office warranted seeking capital punishment.
Ayala also placed the blame for the oversight in Mapp’s case on Scott, who had publicly announced he would be looking at all potential death penalty cases that would possibly be prosecuted by her office.
“You re-assigned high-profile cases both before and after Emerita Mapp’s case,” Ayala wrote in her response to Scott. “However, I am curious to know why you did not take the Emerita Mapp case and reassign it to the Fifth Circuit with the other cases.”
Scott has repeatedly touted that he stands by the victims of violent crime and would make sure the death penalty would be sought, when appropriate, as service to them.
Ayala countered Monday that she also sees herself as a representative of victims of crime, and went on to accuse Scott of endangering prosecution of cases by removing them from her office.
“Your selection process has consequently threatened due process and equal protection under the law,” Ayala wrote. “I too stand with victims of crime. But I also stand boldly on, not just the Constitution, but all amendments to it, including the 14th Amendment.”
Ayala then requested, via a public records request, information on the process Scott used to remove cases from her office, including writings, recordings, reports, memoranda, notes of meetings, written policies, news media stories referenced and communications with other individuals.
Scott also requested information on the amount of taxpayer money spent during Ayala’s court fight with his office over the case removals.
Ayala wrote that the request had been forwarded to her public records department and that records would be produced “in short order.”

ORLANDO, Fla. — Bondi's office released the following statement on Ayala's letter:

"Ayala's office reached out to my attorneys regarding an unidentified death penalty case well after she missed the deadline in an attempt to salvage the case. My office provided potential legal arguments in an attempt to defend a death penalty case, and in an effort to correct her egregious actions. What she did is inexcusable in failing to meet a deadline required in a capital case. In no way do we condone her behavior. She continues to demonstrate that she is incompetent and unwilling to handle capital cases. We will continue to lend support to any effort to follow the law and insure justice is done in any homicide in the Ninth Circuit."