A former Baltimore prosecutor with years of experience has penned a scathing portrayal of State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby for her work during the recent riots, accusing the law enforcer of inciting violence to the point where lives were lost – and suggesting she even has blood on her hands.
Roya Hanna, who exited the state's attorney's office just a few months ago, claimed in an opinion piece for the Baltimore Sun Mosby is directly responsible for leadership failures and relationship issues that caused violence and deaths in the city.
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"Having been a prosecutor in this city for 12 years, four in the homicide division, I can no longer stand idly by and watch State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby avoid taking responsibility for her role in the increase in violence," Hanna wrote.
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She then referenced the city's 200 or so killings this year, and pointed to the sorry 28 charges that have been filed in only 30 of the cases. And of those, five were released earlier this year, she said.
"Had these cases been handled differently, had her office worked more effectively with police or made stronger arguments in court, perhaps the victims would still be alive," Hanna wrote.
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She then turned attention to the Freddie Gray case that rocked the city and led to waves of violent protests, and said of Mosby's response: She was an activist, not an unbiased arbiter of law.
"Ms. Mosby's press conference announcing her decision to indict the officers involved in the Freddie Gray arrest had a chilling effect on the Baltimore Police Department," Hanna wrote.
Why?
Because officers were unsure if they arrested demonstrators whether they'd have the backing of Mosby's office, or whether they'd face retribution. That worry came from Mosby's call for murder for the officers involved in Gray's arrest, Hanna said, as well as from the well-reported perception police were told – again by Mosby – to stand down from arresting demonstrators and instead, give them city space to protest.
"Following her press conference, city arrests dropped and violence increased because officers cannot trust that she won’t again decide to place their futures in jeopardy," Hanna wrote.
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