ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An out-of-state group--funded by out-of-state dollars is setting up a Florida operation to fight the state's death penalty.
The group, Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, plans on lobbying lawmakers in Tallahassee to influence the state's potential abolition of capital punishment.
During an announcement made on the steps of Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala's office, Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty told Channel 9's Field Sutton it believes it will be able to build bi-partisan support for repealing Florida's death penalty statutes.
[ Photos: Death row inmates in Orange County ]
"We urge these prosecutors to take a stand for life, and for fiscal responsibility, and to prudently only seek sentences other than death,” said Mark Hyden, with Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty.
James Purdy, the elected public defender for Volusia and surrounding counties, cited one study during his speech Wednesday pegging the cost of the state's death penalty at more than $50 million.
[ Read: Florida Supreme Court: Death penalty recommendation must be unanimous ]
"Imagine what it would be like if we could have (an extra $50 extra million) or more a year to pay for teachers, to put police officers back on the street,” Purdy said.
Rafael Zaldivar, the father of a son who was murdered in 2012, accused the group of overthinking the death penalty’s purpose.
[ Read: Florida Supreme Court overturns death sentence for Bessman Okafor ]
"It is the ultimate punishment for heinous crimes. That's all it is,” Zaldivar said. "Once one of their wives or children are molested, raped and murdered, they'll be on the other side of the [argument]."
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is part of New York-based Equal Justice USA, whose executive director acknowledges her team's past work with Ayala, including providing support in the state attorney's fight against the death penalty. The executive director said Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty itself has "no contact or involvement" with the state attorney.
The leader of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty echoed that, telling Eyewitness News he and his associates have no connection with Ayala. He said it was a coincidence that the group held Wednesday’s announcement outside the Orange-Osceola County State’s Attorney’s Office.