Death Penalty Opponent Aramis Ayala To Face Attorney General Moody

TAMPA, FL — Florida’s first Black state attorney who made national headlines when she refused to sentence anyone to death has won the Democratic nomination for attorney general.

Ayala received 627,156 votes for a 44.8 percent of the vote, handily defeating her opponents, Daniel Uhlfelder, 49, an attorney in the Panhandle whose great-grandparents were killed in a Nazi concentration camp who received 394,321 votes, and Jim Lewis, 65, an attorney from Fort Lauderdale and former assistant state attorney, who received 377,917 votes.

Aramis Ayala, 47, will face current Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody in the general election Nov. 8.

Ayala was elected state attorney for Osceola and Orange counties in November 2016, serving as chief prosecutor from 2017 to 2021. However, when she publicly announced she would not impose the death penalty, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who was the Florida governor at the time, took away all death penalty cases from her office.

That's when she decided not to seek reelection.

"There was a lot of frustration because unjust laws produce unjust executions of laws," she said, adding that research shows the death penalty is expensive, slow and does not increase public safety.

As frustrating as that experience was, Ayala said she became even more frustrated watching the 2022 legislative session.

"We saw an attack on our democracy, an attack on everyday people from the LGBTQ community to women's rights," she said. "But we heard nothing from the people's attorney. That's what the attorney general is, a position where you can fight like you never did before and make change for everyday people."

If elected attorney general, she said her stance on the death penalty won't change.

"It's not specifically about the death penalty," she said. "It's about the facts. It's about getting justice. For far too long, we've defined justice in a way that doesn't resonate with the people. Justice belongs to all of us."

But her platform goes far beyond that single issue.

"The 'Don't Say Gay' law is unconstitutional," she said. "There's not a teacher shortage. There is a shortage of pay, dignity and respect for teachers."

She said, as attorney general, she will also "hold polluters accountible and ensure legal consequences for the negligient and intentional destruction of our ecosystem."

The daughter of a Vietnam War veteran, Ayala said she grew up with parents who stressed the importance of hard work, faith and service from a young age. That faith helped her through a batle with cancer.

Ayala said she was thrilled with the outcome of Tuesday's primary.

"The support from so many people across the state has been amazing," she said. "I'm ready to fight and win again."

She added that she could never have achieved that victory without the support of her husband, David, and their two daughters.

"I have to give a huge shoutout to my husband and girls who have rocked on these Florida highways without one complaint," she said.