‘I feel vindicated,’ Florida reelects prosecutor suspended by DeSantis over sentencing choices

One of the few bright spots for Democrats in what is now a bright red Sunshine State, voters in the Orlando area reelected a progressive prosecutor who Gov. Ron DeSantis had previously suspended.

Democrat Monique Worrell won about 57% of the vote over Independent Andrew Bain, who DeSantis chose to replace her in the Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office in August 2023. The circuit includes Orange and Osceola counties in central Florida.

“I feel vindicated,” Worrell told The Orlando Sentinel. “The voters vindicated me tonight. Let’s just hope the governor respects the voters’ wishes this time.”

Bain conceded the race.

“With an exceptional team of both seasoned prosecutors and passionate young attorneys, we will continue to work we have started,” Bain told reporters in a statement. “Together, we will fight for justice, pursue fairness and ensure that every decision made from this office priorities the safety and well-being of the people.”

A DeSantis spokesman did not immediately respond to an email from  requesting comment on whether he intends to reinstate Worrell. He suspended her with an executive order for alleged “neglect of duty” and “incompetence.”

In his order, the governor accused Worrell of abusing her prosecutorial discretion by systematically failing to seek mandatory minimum sentences under Florida law, as well as not fully prosecuting repeat criminal offenders.

DeSantis’ order barred Worrell from carrying out any acts, duties, or functions of public office and suspended her indefinitely without pay.

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Another justification was her alleged handling of cases involving Keith Moses, the man accused of murdering 9-year-old T’Yonna Major, TV reporter Dylan Lyons, and 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin during a February 2023 shooting spree. DeSantis claimed that it was Worrell who let Moses off the hook for previous crimes, allowing him to be on the streets.

According to the Sentinel, the majority of Moses’ previous cases were handled by Worrell’s predecessor while the killer was a minor.

Bain flooded central Florida’s airwaves with ads citing the Moses cases as an example of Worrell’s soft-on-crime policies. However, it appears to have backfired, as T’Yonna’s father issued a statement to the Sentinel asking the Republican Party of Florida to stop using his daughter as a political ploy.

While Bain boasted that violent crime had decreased under his watch, 17-year-old Jaylen Edgar opened fire in downtown Orlando, killing two and injuring nine during Halloween festivities attended by up to 100,000 people early Friday. Bain’s office previously handled Edgar’s 2023 grand theft case, according to local Fox affiliate WOFL.

Worrell, a former public defender and professor at the University of Florida, sued DeSantis shortly after her suspension to reclaim her position. She claimed that her suspension was invalid because DeSantis failed to establish any actual malfeasance on her part.

In her filing, Worrell argued that she should not be held responsible for case processing times and accused DeSantis of using his power to suspend as a “‘take my word for it’ license” to suspend anyone with whom he disagreed politically.

Worrell stated that she handled her caseload in accordance with ethical guidelines and used prosecutorial discretion to conserve limited prison resources.

“A state attorney’s duty is not to maximize incarceration rates at all costs,” Worrell claimed in her complaint.

In a June decision, Florida’s highest court sided with DeSantis, stating that “prosecutorial discretion is no complete defense to an allegation of incompetence or dereliction of duty.” DeSantis appointed five of the seven justices on the court.

Justices Jorge Labarga and Charles Canady, who were not appointed by DeSantis, were appointed by his predecessor, Republican Charlie Crist.

Worrell was one of the two Democratic prosecutors suspended by DeSantis. He also fired Andrew Warren, the Tampa area’s state attorney, after Warren stated that he would not prosecute abortion cases after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Warren lost his election bid on Tuesday.

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