Father of murder victim wants State Attorney Aramis Ayala to resign

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The father of an Orange County murder victim is not happy that Orange-Osceola County State Attorney Aramis Ayala has decided not to pursue the death penalty in any of the cases she prosecutes.

Ayala made the announcement Thursday and used accused cop-killer Markeith Loyd as an example to not seek the death penalty.

Read: Ayala says she will never pursue death penalty in any case

Rafael Zaldivar, the father of murder victim Alex Zaldivar, asked Ayala to resign Friday during a news conference. He said he has no faith in her ability to do her job without bias.

"I cannot allow Ms. Ayala to destroy five years of hard work," Zaldivar said. "The state of Florida, the Senate, should remove her immediately."

Zaldivar also asked Gov. Rick Scott to step in and assign special prosecutors to every single case in which the death penalty could be applied until she does. The amounts to about 20 cases in Orange And Osceola Counties.

Bessman Okafor killed Alex Zaldivar five years ago and was convicted of murder. A jury gave Okafor the death penalty, voting 11 to 1, in 2015.

Rafael Zaldivar told Channel 9's Field Sutton that he already felt like he was fighting numerous death-penalty opponents, and now feels like he's having to fight the people who are supposed to fight for his family.

"Today, I am asking Ayala to submit her immediate resignation. She does not function. She has taken up an agenda. A political agenda from the far left. And that, we don't need that kind of person here,” Rafael Zaldivar said.

Others at Zaldivar's news conference agreed the death penalty should be an option, especially in the Loyd case.

"That should not be taken off the table, because a prosecutor decides that's what she wants to do. The prosecutor's supposed to be the bad guy. She's supposed to be the one that puts people in prison," said death-penalty supporter Rhetta Peoples.

Cox Media Group