Minneapolis-area DA facing backlash for pushing probation over prison for violent offenders

Minneapolis’s newest district attorney is facing intense backlash from the families of victims of violent crime for pushing probation over prison time for killers, rapists, and other lawbreakers.

Mary Moriarty was elected as Hennepin County’s top prosecutor after spending more than three decades as a public defender.

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Some, like Catherine Markey, a veteran attorney whose son was shot and killed by teenagers, accused Moriarty of still playing the part of a public defender and alleged that her 30 years of advocating on behalf of defendants has clouded her judgment and, in turn, denied the victims and their families justice.

“It’s a trend definitely because of Mary Moriarty,” Markey told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

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Sherrice Barnett also told the outlet she was in disbelief when Moriarty told her that the teenager charged in her son’s death would be spared jail time.

“I couldn’t breathe,” Barnett said. “I said, ‘I just got to get up out of here.’ I never would have imagined in a million years that it would have went that way.” 

State sentencing guidelines suggested her son’s killer spend time behind bars, but Moriarty’s office went another route. 

Moriarty’s penchant for probation in the nine months she’s been in charge has made her at times feel more of a foe than an advocate, some family members claimed.

During her first week on the job, she was forced to drop criminal charges against a 35-year-old man accused of raping a 14-year-old girl after a prosecutor from her office lied to the judge about the contents of a note that a victim’s advocate passed to her during the trial.  The prosecutor, who was not Moriarty, asked the victim’s advocate to change the note she passed “to conform with the lie that she had told the court.” 

The defense attorney refused to sign off on a mistrial, so the DA’s office was forced to drop the charges despite the girl having to endure grueling testimony about her rape. The man accused went free. Even though Moriarty said she was “deeply remorseful and apologetic” to the child, the prosecutor’s critics say they have been disgusted by what they’ve seen from her office.  

Moriarty campaigned as a reformer focused on rehabilitation and not punishment. It’s something she said she’s always been clear about and is how she will continue to run her office. 

Her instructions on how to go after alleged criminals are indicative of the wider progressive prosecutor movement that has swept across liberal cities and counties across the country with varying results, Steve Zeidman, professor at City University of New York School of Law, said.

“You’re seen as being overly lenient as opposed to trying to correct past wrongs,” he said.

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Frustration with like-minded prosecutors nationwide has led to some being recalled or facing impeachment attempts.

An email to Moriarty’s office seeking comment was not returned.