He failed to win his most high-profile case, but voters on Tuesday showed they have faith in Casey Anthony prosecutor Jeff Ashton — they elected him state attorney for two Florida counties.
Ashton, 54, was part of the prosecution team that could not convince a jury to convict the 25-year-old mother of murdering her daughter, in one of the nation’s most talked-about cases.
He was given the case by state attorney Lawson Lamar — the man he beat out for the post in Orange and Osceola counties. Lamar had held the job for 24 years.
Anthony’s father, George, who clashed with his daughter over the toddler’s death, was a guest at Ashton’s victory party, reports the
Orlando Sentinel.
Ashton, who retired last year shortly after Anthony’s acquittal, blamed Lamar for the failure to convict her — as well as roughly half of the cases his office prosecuted.
"You judge a management system by how successful it is," he said. "Citizens expect their prosecutors to choose their cases well and then do their best to win them. I don't think voters accept this idea that, 'Hey, winning doesn't really matter.'"
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