Aramis Ayala
Aramis Ayala is an American politician and prosecutor who was the state attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. She was elected in November 2016, and served as the chief prosecutor from 2017 to 2021. In May 2019, Ayala stated that she would not seek re-election as state attorney.
Ayala was the Democratic nominee in the Attorney General election. Ayala lost the general election to incumbent Ashley Moody by a landslide.
Early life and education
Ayala was born in Saginaw, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Michigan with an undergraduate degree. She then obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Detroit.Career
State attorney
Ayala announced she would not seek capital punishment in any case, causing Florida Governor Rick Scott to reassign potential death penalty cases to another State Attorney. Ayala has filed lawsuits disputing this action in the Supreme Court of Florida, and in federal court. Ayala lost her Supreme Court case against Scott. The Supreme Court of Florida ruled against Ayala, saying that the governor was within his power to take cases away from Ayala because of her position to abandon the death penalty in all cases before her and not to exercise her discretion in each individual case.In July 2017, a video of two police officers pulling over Ayala went viral, due to allegations of racial profiling. Ayala requested the officers' information during the encounter, but did not take any legal action, writing that the stop "appears consistent with Florida law."