Minneapolis’ progressive district attorney is under fire for his vigilante policies that allow accused rapists, pedophiles and murderers to remain free — and Minnesota’s George Soros-backed attorney general has accused him of going too far.
Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty, 59, took office in January promising to “deliver more safety and more justice” to the community.
Since then, however, he has terrorized families and local officials by urging suspects in the most serious crimes to get probation in an effort to keep them out of prison, according to the Star Tribune.
Veteran prosecutor Catherine Markey was only told moments before the plea hearing that the DA was only seeking probation for one of the teenagers involved in the 2019 carjacking that killed her son, Stephen Markey.
“It’s a trend for sure because of Mary Moriarty,” the former prosecutor told the newspaper those accused of serious crimes get a slap-on-the-wrist offer.
“He’s still playing public defender — the only thing is, that’s not his role anymore,” Markey said of the city’s chief prosecutor.
Keith Ellison, the attorney general for Minnesota, has criticized Moriarty’s decision. Getty Images for National Urban LeagueMary Moriarty took office as Hennepin County district attorney in January.AP
Sherrice Barnett also recalled her horror when she was told the teenager accused of killing her son, 27-year-old Derrell Freeman, would be spared a prison sentence.
“I can’t breathe,” he told the newspaper.
“I said, ‘I just got up from here.’ I never imagined in a million years it would happen like that.”
Another mother, Nancy Caspersen, recalled her disgust at the repeat offender charged with the third-degree murder of her daughter Kailey — for selling the pain pills laced with fentanyl that killed her in 2021 — getting probation and up to 240 days in jail instead of the maximum 25 year.
“It’s not fair. It’s not right. He’s my only child,” a tearful Caspersen told the Star Tribune.
“It makes me feel like he doesn’t matter to these people.”
Stephen Markey (right) was shot and killed during a carjacking in 2019. Courtesy of the Markey family
Moriarty has faced outrage since his first week in office, when he dropped charges against a 35-year-old man accused of raping a teenage girl because of attorney misconduct, CBS News reported at the time.
Moriarty later said that he was “deeply sorry and apologetic” to the alleged victim, who gave incriminating evidence before the charges were dismissed, the outlet said.
However, critics suggested it was the start of a trend that has grown ever since – with some high-profile cases even getting out of hand.
In April, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz reassigned the case against the alleged murderer of mother-of-one Zaria McKeever to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is backed by left-wing billionaire George Soros, the Star Tribune explained.
McKeever, 23, was killed in 2022 by two teenage brothers hired by her ex-boyfriend, the outlet said.
Zaria McKeever, 23, was killed last year at the behest of her ex-boyfriend. Ellison oversees the case.Facebook
Although prosecutors initially wanted to try both boys as adults, they were offered probation in exchange for testifying against McKeever’s ex.
The controversial arrangement prompted Hennepin County Assistant District Attorney Leah Erickson to remove herself from the case, then leave the office entirely, the Star Tribune reported at the time.
Ellison called Moriarty’s approach to the McKeever case “disproportionate to the seriousness of the crime” in a statement shortly after the case was reassigned.
“While I share the belief that too many juveniles are involved in the adult criminal justice system, accountability for the seriousness of these crimes has been lost in this case,” he wrote.
McKeever’s sister, Tiffynie Epps, was more direct, telling the Star Tribune, “[Moriarty] is groping for another case again and again and again.”
Husayn Braveheart is on probation for the shooting death of Stephen Markey. Minneapolis Police Department
“Something has to happen. … It’s not about it happening we way. It’s about going to right way.”
Similarly, the case of a 15-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by her brother for three years prompted prosecutor Raina Urton to remove herself from the case after the new administration pushed her to seek probation instead of prison for the defendant, the outlet said. said.
“He left because he knew what happened was wrong,” the teenager’s mother said of Urton.
“He fought for us. He fought for our daughter.”
The parents of Stephen Markey – who were shocked when Husayn Braveheart, one of the teenagers accused of fatally shooting a 39-year-old paralegal four years ago, was offered probation after the former got 22 years in prison – asked Ellison to take over their son’s case.
Ellison, however, announced last week that he would not intervene.
Jesse Russell Lietzau gets probation for selling a lethal pill mixed with fentanyl to Nancy Caspersen’s daughter. Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office
Catherine Markey later filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Justice Unit, the Star Tribune said.
Moriarty said he plans to stick with his plan to bring reforms to the DA’s office — dismissing the outrage as an expected cost of change.
“I think it takes a lot of courage to actually act on what you say you’re going to do,” he told the Star Tribune.
“I know we’re going to get a lot of pushback.
“But if you’re really going to make a difference, if you’re really about your values, and you want to have integrity, and you believe in research and looking at data, this is the right decision and I support it.”
Moriarty campaigned on the premise of increasing rehabilitation over incarceration for young offenders, he explained.
Moriarty insists that he stands by his principles.Mary Moriarty/Facebook
In the Derrell Freeman murder case, he continued, the two perpetrators were treated differently based on their records: One, Joran McFarland, will likely serve an adult prison sentence, while Monte Wise could receive up to two years of treatment and be on probation until he turns 21.
“We’ve all been conditioned to believe that the value we place on the lives of our loved ones is the length of prison they receive,” Moriarty said of the family’s reaction to his sentencing request.
The former chief public defender epitomizes a new brand of progressive prosecutor intent on exposing the various injustices in mass incarceration and criminal justice, City University of New York School of Law professor Steve Zeidman told the Star Tribune.
“You are seen as too lenient as opposed to trying to right the wrongs of the past,” he said of Moriarty and his peers.
Caspersen’s daughter, Kailey, died of a fentanyl overdose in May 2021. Digital Memorial
He noted that some of the cases that drew complaints from families began under former District Attorney Mike Freeman, whose office convinced loved ones that they were looking for prison time.
While there may need to be better communication between the DA and the family, Zeidman thinks, Moriarty should not feel bound by the previous administration’s statements.
“It’s a big change in the office,” Moriarty admitted.
“And I understand why the family is upset. I understand why some communities are upset that we’re not doing a good job of having these conversations.”
“We are working to build it because families deserve more. They deserve more even if someone is in jail.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
