Steve Mulroy is the Right Choice for District Attorney

Written by John Marek

Shelby County has one of its most important elections of our lifetimes coming up. Yes, I know every presidential election we are fed similar sentiments, and, in a lot of ways, it is typically true because of the President’s power to appoint Supreme Court Justices. While we will not have another presidential election until 2024, we go to the polls to elect our District Attorney in Shelby County this year. District Attorneys serve 8-year terms, and, in the past, we have not put in nearly the effort to elect a D.A. that we put in to elect legislators and our mayors. I myself am guilty of such, having worked tirelessly on legislative races on all levels of government since 2004, but we never had a competitive D.A.’s race. It was not until I became a criminal defense attorney that I realized how important the D.A. elections are in our and other communities. 

The current District Attorney is not furthering justice

I had a case, which I will have to be vague about here, involving a client with a plea deal for probation. At the time, the evidence weighed against my client and we were in favor of accepting the plea deal. Because my client (who had three witnesses to attest to car issues they had bringing him to court) was fifteen minutes late to court, his plea deal was thrown out and he was sentenced to prison. To make matters worse, during sentencing, the judge asked my client how many children he had by how many women, which was not relevant to the case at all. Later, upon discovering new evidence, I attempted to bring the case back up for reconsideration, but the judge and prosecutor seemed uninterested; our request was denied.  Thus, the client, the state, and client’s family will all share in the cost of years of incarceration because car trouble caused a 15-minute delay. This doesn’t serve the interests of justice or the tax payers. 

The problem with our current D.A.’s administration is that her actions have always been based on building up a Republican to run for something larger. They have created a prosecutorial culture that cares more about “winning” than actual justice. The current administration’s obsession with a win/loss record is not something we should allow to continue. Their actions are those of political opportunism; something too often seen from those who oppose reform. Unfortunately, the party of Trump has given us an opportunist looking to ladder climb on the backs of our most disadvantaged communities. 

How we can change things for the better

Fortunately, we have a chance to make a difference this year. Steve Mulroy, former county commissioner, civil rights attorney, and current law professor at the Univ. of Memphis comes from the party of hope and change. He will bring a mindset and worldview that fits much more in line with the mindset and worldview of Shelby County voters. Violent crime? His administration will prosecute violent crimes to the fullest extent possible.  What he won’t do is pad out a win/loss record with nonviolent offenders so that his resume looks good for a future run for office. What he won’t do is let his desire to clime the political ladder lead Shelby County to the highest level of prosecutorial misconduct in Tennessee. 

Steve Mulroy better represents Shelby County

It makes absolutely zero sense that a county that voted 64.4% for Joe Biden with a 51.1% African American population would have a Republican District Attorney. We cannot allow the school to prison pipeline to continue, and we cannot allow victimless crimes to continue to put our civilians/residents in jail. We cannot allow disparate enforcement and sentencing to continue, and we cannot allow financial advantage to play so much of a role in the outcome.  We need bail and sentencing reform. If a Memphian has not been proven guilty, our system should not force them to languish in prison while a wealthy person with the same charge walks free until trial. 

Mark your calendar and vote for Steve Mulroy

With early voting running July 15th through July 30th and election day on Thursday, August 4th, everyone in Shelby County will have the ability to vote for a new District Attorney. Your county needs you; take this time to plan when and where you plan to vote. Take your friends and family with you. I have asked this before, and I will ask it again: Memphis, reach down deep and turn your bleeding hearts into bleeding hands. Vote for change! Vote Steve Mulroy for District Attorney.