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Prosecutor

Ex-DA faces suspension after failing to disclose that cop planted evidence in murder case

An 85-page report filed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court by retired Circuit Judge Dennis Flynn found that former Kenosha County District Attorney Robert Zapf committed multiple instances of professional misconduct — and that Zapf deserves to be suspended from practicing law and prohibited from ever again being a prosecutor. The violations go back to to Zapf’s conduct when he […]

Baltimore body camera controversy grows

In the last month, the Baltimore Police Department has been rocked by accusations that officers are staging or “reenacting” the discovery of drugs for the benefit of capturing, after the fact, the seizure of evidence on their body cameras. In response, Baltimore County State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has decided to drop the charges in those cases — and possibly hundreds of […]

Voters opt against candidate with history of misconduct in Ontario County D.A. race

At the ballot box in Ontario County, New York this week, Republican voters chose candidate Jim Ritts as the primary candidate for district attorney. Ritts won with 55 percent of the vote, beating Kristina “Kitty” Karle, a former assistant prosecutor in neighboring Monroe county. Karle’s loss comes after an appellate court criticized her for prosecutorial misconduct in […]

Another wrongful conviction — and a chance for Worthy to step up

Jamal Segars and his friend Brian Minner were shot near the Detroit airport in 2004. Thelonious “Shaun” Searcy became the prime suspect, and investigator theorized he had meant to kill someone else and shot Segars and Minner by mistake. Officers from the scene were unable to identify Searcy, but four other random eye-witnesses did. Searcy presented eight […]

Safety in numbers: Will District Attorneys support saving lives?

Supervised injection sites — places where IV drugs users can avoid contracting disease and deathly overdoes — have been cited approvingly by public health experts as one of the most effective ways to control the opioid epidemic. They have been popular in Canada. But, public officials in the U.S. have shied away from them. The tide may be starting […]

Utah County to Create A Prosecutor Watchdog Group

Following a handful of local cases that raised concerns about prosecutorial overreach, the Utah County Commission has decided to create a committee that will look into prosecutorial misconduct. “I don’t want to limit what prosecutors should be doing,” Commission Chairman Bill Lee said. “But it’s important to me that the public also has trust in our legal […]

Louisiana’s death penalty prosecutor takes aim at his legal opponents

The death penalty is costing the cash-strapped state of Louisiana tens of millions of dollars a year. But there’s one state employee who’s massively profiting off its continued existence. Hugo Holland’s fingerprints are on the bulk of Louisiana’s recent death sentences. He’s been hired by over a dozen district attorneys to prosecute death penalty cases at a rate that […]

California prosecutor punished a second time for conduct in prosecuting high profile child molestation case

The State Bar of California has given a public reproval to a San Mateo prosecutor after ruling that she made false statements about a potential witness in a criminal case. Under a settlement agreement, Deputy District Attorney Melissa McKowan stipulated to one count of violating the business and professions code while she was prosecuting the child molestation […]

Brooklyn district attorney candidates spar for title of ‘most progressive’

In Bedford-Stuyvesant’s historic Mount Pisgah Baptist Church on Tuesday night, candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in the race for Brooklyn’s next district attorney gathered to compare their progressive track records and reform-driven plans. The forum, hosted by Faith Over Fear, a “faith and justice coalition,” focused heavily on police accountability, the protection of immigrants, […]

Democratic candidates debate ahead of Brooklyn DA primary elections

Candidates sparred last month at a political forum hosted by VOCAL-NY in the race to become Brooklyn’s next District Attorney. The debate allowed community members to question candidates on myriad criminal justice issues, from wrongful convictions to protecting immigrants from deportation. According to recent polling, Eric Gonzalez, acting-District Attorney since Ken Thompson’s death in October 2016, leads the […]

Kym Worthy refuses to admit fault, again

In 1996, a 12-year-old girl named Christina Brown was found dead in a Detroit apartment. She had been beaten to death with a toilet tank lid; she’d also been stabbed. Lamarr Monson — who had been living with and dealing drugs with Brown thinking she was older — came home and found her dead. He called for the neighbors to […]

Terry Williams finally gets a chance

Of all the death row stories, perhaps none is quite as heart wrenching as that of Terry Williams, who was sentenced to death in Philadelphia three decades ago. This week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided that Williams should finally get another penalty-phase trial, which means that Williams has a chance to explain why he deserves […]

Oregon makes drug possession a misdemeanor over prosecutor objections

The state of Oregon has made drug possession a misdemeanor over the objections of multiple district attorneys in the state. The new law went into effect as soon as Governor Kate Brown signed it earlier this month. It makes most instances of first-time simple possession of illegal drugs — including cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines — a misdemeanor rather than a felony. The […]

Reform candidates come under attack in Contra Costa County District Attorney selection process

At two recent public forums, candidates to become Contra Costa’s interim District Attorney focused mostly on the degree to which their views and proposed policies aligned with Contra Costa County’s solidly progressive constituents’. But the selection process took an unexpected turn on Friday when local news outlets reported that two finalists — Superior Court Judge Diana Becton and Assistant […]

Former Indianapolis prosecutor will not be disciplined despite findings of misconduct

A prosecutor who worked for Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry will not face discipline despite findings of prosecutorial misconduct in two separate criminal cases. Former Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Gillian DePrez Keiffner was the lead prosecutor in two criminal cases where the Indiana Court of Appeals found that Keiffner committed misconduct. In Brandon Brummet’s case, the appellate court […]

Safe injection sites save lives, but most U.S. politicians are still running scared

Tens of thousands of people are dying every year. The President recently declared it a national emergency. Yet most politicians in the U.S. are still shying away from an empirically proven way to save lives claimed by the ever-growing opioid epidemic: supervised injection facilities. Sixty-six cities across the world have opened these facilities, which permit intravenous […]

UPDATE: Marcellus Williams execution stayed in Missouri

UPDATED Aug. 22, 2017, 3:00 p.m. On Tuesday afternoon just hours before Marcellus Williams was scheduled to be executed in Missouri, Governor Eric Greitens issued a stay pending an investigation into new DNA evidence presented by Williams’ attorneys. Greitens announced that he would appoint a board of inquiry to review Williams’ case and issue a report. “A […]

Stacy Parks Miller faces discipline

While prosecutorial misconduct generally slides under the radar, every once in a while, there’s a prosecutor whose acts are so egregious that they inspire bar complaints. So it is with Stacy Parks Miller, the chief prosecutor for Centre County, Pennsylvania, whom I previously covered for Slate in May, just before she lost her reelection bid. If you’ve heard of Parks […]

Texas district attorney to police: Do better.

Last Wednesday, County District Attorney Kristen Barnebey of Aransas County, Texas announced that her office will not accept cases presented by a local police department until its officers are better educated and trained. A press release issued by her office on Tuesday states that the Rockport Police Department has withheld evidence in violation of the law — […]

Death penalty taken off table for killer due to prosecutor and sheriff misconduct

A California judge has taken the death penalty off the table for Scott Dekraai after finding that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department engaged in “chronic” corruption. On Friday, Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Goethals said Dekraai could not face the death penalty due to the repeated misconduct by both D.A. Tony Rackauckas’s office and […]

Father of five arrested for leaving kids unattended while at work

On August 15, Victor Alonzo King of Raleigh, North Carolina was arrested and accused of child abuse. His offense? Allegedly leaving his five children under the age of eight unattended while he went to work. King’s employer says he left the children with a neighbor, who then left them alone, according to ABC 13. In court on […]

A chance at freedom, barely

71-year-old Henry Montgomery has been in prison for over 50 years for his role in the shooting death of East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputy Charles Hurt. But he now has a chance to see the free world. The petitioner in the U.S. Supreme Court case Montgomery v. Louisiana, which gave hope to thousands of people who thought they […]

Special prosecutor requested in Indianapolis police shooting

The family of an Aaron Bailey, an unarmed black man killed by police in Indianapolis, are asking for a special prosecutor to investigate the case. Family members argue that Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry has a conflict of interest and cannot fairly assess the culpability of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officers Michal P. Dinnsen and Carlton […]

New head of Louisiana District Attorney’s Association no friend of reform

Earlier this month, District Attorney Ricky Babin was elected president of the Louisiana District Attorney’s Association. He’ll take on this new role at a critical time for criminal justice reform. But Babin’s history and past statements suggest he will not be a voice for change, and will instead defend the status quo that has made […]

Cook County prosecutor fights to keep a new mom out of jail

In a highly unusual move, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office recently became embroiled in a fight to keep a new mother from being locked up. Karen Padilla Garcia, 26, went into labor after she was detained in the Cook County Jail following a probation violation last month. Garcia was taken to Stroger Hospital where […]