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An Underdog Reformer Just Unseated the Prosecutor Who Handled the Ferguson Police Shooting
https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2018/08/an-underdog-reformer-just-unseated-the-prosecutor-who-handled-the-ferguson-police-shooting/An Underdog Reformer Just Unseated the Prosecutor Who Handled the Ferguson Police Shooting
Robert McCulloch never brought charges against the police who shot Michael Brown. Voters decided to replace him with Wesley Bell.
Samantha Michaels | Aug. 8, 2018 12:09 AM
Ferguson city council member Wesley Bell speaks during the dedication of a new community empowerment center in Ferguson, Missouri, in July. Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
Nearly four years to the day after a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, shot an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown, voters in the state’s primary election on Tuesday ousted the long-standing county prosecutor who faced fierce criticism for his handling of the case.
Robert McCulloch, 67, who has been the St. Louis county prosecutor for almost three decades, failed to indict the officer who killed Brown in 2014, an incident that sparked widespread protests and galvanized a national conversation about police brutality against people of color. His opponent in the primary, Wesley Bell, is a 43-year-old Ferguson city councilman and former public defender, prosecutor, and judge who helped push police accountability and court reforms in Ferguson after Brown’s killing, and who campaigned on a progressive platform of ending cash bail for nonviolent offenses and fighting mass incarceration.
With 89 percent of ballots counted, Bell declared victory late Tuesday night, with 55 percent of the vote over McCulloch’s 45 percent. Both are Democrats. No Republicans were on the ballot for the primary race, so Bell will run unopposed in the general election in November.
“People keep saying, ‘You shocked the world,’” Bell told supporters at an election watch party. “No, we shocked the world. People showed up and showed out.”
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They needed to TAKE their city back and you do that one office at a time. Apathy is what brought them the misery and they have started gaining city council seats among other positions.
And the bigger key here is this from the OP link -
Eighty-five percent of district attorney incumbents nationally run unopposed for reelection. But it’s beginning to change. Progressive groups, pointing out that prosecutors have enormous power in the criminal justice system, are increasingly channeling funds into the campaigns of reformist candidates like Bell and District Attorney Larry Krasner in Philadelphia.
“People realize the need for change, they realize the need for criminal justice reform,” Bell told the Appeal ahead of the primary vote. “When we talk about reforming the cash bail system or ending mass incarceration, I wouldn’t call those radical. I would call those policies that work and help people.”
https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2018/08/an-underdog-reformer-just-unseated-the-prosecutor-who-handled-the-ferguson-police-shooting/
“People realize the need for change, they realize the need for criminal justice reform,” Bell told the Appeal ahead of the primary vote. “When we talk about reforming the cash bail system or ending mass incarceration, I wouldn’t call those radical. I would call those policies that work and help people.”
https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2018/08/an-underdog-reformer-just-unseated-the-prosecutor-who-handled-the-ferguson-police-shooting/
Here in Philly, we elected Larry Krasner to start making major changes in the criminal justice system here. I wish Bell all the best of luck. It will be difficult but it is worth while. Joe Madison is talking about this right now!
. . .even for "smaller" offices. Even for "off years". No such animals exist.
The year 2019 will be just as critical as this year because that's when many local offices are up for grabs. These offices build up the bench for the bigger ones on the state and federal levels.
