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But Ayala's decision not to pursue the death penalty for Markeith Loyd --- accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and the execution-style killing of Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton --- sparked outrage from Republican lawmakers, Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi and resulted in calls for the state attorney's ouster.

Ayala is challenging Scott's removal of her from the Loyd case. The governor reassigned it to Brad King, an Ocala-area state attorney who is an outspoken proponent of the death penalty. Meanwhile, more than 100 law professors and legal experts --- including two former state Supreme Court chief justices and onetime Florida State University President Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte - have accused Scott of overstepping his authority by ousting Ayala as prosecutor in the case.

For many blacks, especially in Southern states like Florida, the death penalty is rooted in a history of discrimination and remains a stark reminder of lynch mobs. Adding to racial tensions, Florida has never executed a white defendant whose victim was black, something critics are quick to highlight.

"Race has always been an issue in the death penalty, whether it's Florida or anyplace," said Florida International University law professor Stephen Harper, who runs the school's Death Penalty Clinic.

A University of North Carolina study released last year that examined executions in Florida between 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated, and 2014, found that, while about 56 percent of Florida victims were white, nearly three-fourths of all executions involved white victims. More than 70 percent of the black defendants executed in Florida had been convicted of murdering white victims, the study found.

Of the 396 inmates on Death Row, 154 --- or nearly 40 percent --- are black, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The ratio of African-Americans awaiting execution is more than double the percentage of blacks in the state's overall population.

Few believe that the controversy swirling around Ayala, Scott and inequities in the administration of the death penalty in Florida will spur significant changes, at least in the short run.

"I don't think it will have any impact that way," said Bernie McCabe, the state attorney in the 6th Judicial Circuit in Pasco and Pinellas counties.

But Scott's removal of Ayala from the Loyd case and her arguments against the death penalty --- that it is unfair to victims and that its implementation discriminates against minorities --- have injected newfound enthusiasm into the opposition.