Gov. Scott Assigns State Attorney Brad King to Prosecute Markeith
Loyd Following State Attorney Ayala Refusing to Recuse Herself
Earlier today, Governor Scott called on State Attorney Ayala to recuse herself immediately from prosecuting Markeith Loyd after she refused to consider the death penalty in this case. State Attorney Ayala has refused to recuse herself and Governor Scott has removed her from the case and reassigned it to State Attorney Brad King.
Governor Scott said, “Earlier today, I called on State Attorney Ayala to immediately recuse herself from this case. She informed me this afternoon that she refuses to do that. She has made it clear that she will not fight for justice and that is why I am using my executive authority to immediately reassign the case to State Attorney Brad King.
“Let’s remember, Markeith Loyd is accused of executing a brave law enforcement hero and murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon. Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Norman Lewis was also killed while actively searching for Markeith Loyd following these heinous murders. I am outraged and sickened by this loss of life and many families’ lives have been forever changed because of these senseless murders. These families deserve a state attorney who will aggressively prosecute Markeith Loyd to the fullest extent of the law and justice must be served.”
Click here to see the Executive Order removing State Attorney Ayala from the case.
Click here to see the Governor’s statement earlier today on State Attorney Ayala’s comments.
