Free Republic

Gov. Rick Scott has removed State Attorney Aramis Ayala from prosecuting two Orlando women who are accused of beating a 3-year-old boy to death because he drank milk from the jug. Scott issued two executive orders Monday to strip the two cases from Ayala and reassign them to neighboring State Attorney Brad King. Callene Marcia Barton and Lakesha Chantell Lewis were arrested July 7 at Eagle Landing on Silver Star Road in Orlando after authorities arrived to the apartment complex to find 3-year-old Xavier Mokarzel-Satchel unconscious and struggling to breathe, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies said the boy's...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Gov. Rick Scott has reassigned the Markeith Loyd case after State Attorney Aramis Ayala announced Thursday morning that she will not be seeking the death penalty. Scott originally called for Ayala to recuse herself from the case. When she refused, Scott removed her from the case and assigned it to Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brad King in an executive order issued Thursday afternoon. /snip/ Loyd is accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, 24-year-old Sade Dixon, in Pine Hills on Dec. 13 and Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton at an Orlando Walmart on Jan. 9. He was arrested on Jan. 17,...