ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is claiming decisions made by Orange and Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell are putting people at risk.
In a letter to Worrell posted on social media, Uthmeier wrote, in part, “You are not powerless to influence sentencing outcomes, nor can you have discretion without responsibility. The judge’s role is irrelevant to your duty to oppose lenient dispositions for the undeserving.”
You can read the full letter here:
WFTV reached out to Worrell’s office regarding Uthmeier’s letter and received the following statement:
“The Attorney General wants to talk about my record instead of answering for his own. He can’t explain why he’s more interested in scoring political points than doing the work of keeping people safe — so instead, he attacks the prosecutors in my office who show up every single day to do exactly that.
Let’s talk facts, since he won’t. Violent crime is down. Our prosecutors are in court securing convictions and holding offenders accountable, every day, without the theater.
I wasn’t overwhelming re-elected to play politics, and I’m not going to start now. My focus — our focus — has always been the people of the 9th Judicial Circuit. That means integrity. That means fairness. That means public safety, not manufactured press releases.”
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