RantCrush Top 5: April 21, 2017

A couple of weeks ago, Florida’s first black, elected state attorney said she would not be seeking the death penalty against any defendants. This angered governor Rick Scott, who removed her from 23 capital cases. Now Aramis Ayala has received racist, threatening letters, one of which contained a noose, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The two letters were mailed to her office and Ayala said she believes the letters amount to a hate crime, as well as a threat to a public official. Authorities are investigating where the letters could have been sent from and said they appeared to have been sent by the same person. After Scott removed Ayala from several cases, activists have organized protests and delivered official complaints to the governor’s office, calling it “misogyny” and an “abuse of power.”

Noose mailed to FL State Attorney Aramis Ayala after she said she would not pursue the death penalty https://t.co/U74JJy5HFf @splcenter pic.twitter.com/MwHCRuY3Rp

— David Beard (@dabeard) April 21, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.