TUESDAY POWER-OUTAGE UPDATE- There is a total power outage at the Lawson family courthouse. Apparently someone forgot to pay the bill. Again. No estimated time for restoration of power as of 2:08 pm. So once again, judges and litigants are left in the dark. Let the puns flow...
There is a reason why we relentlessly mock and criticize the Dade state attorney's office for abandoning their discretion and surrendering the ability to do justice when their drones roll up to the court podium and intone "victim wants max". Because tragedies like this occur:
Jessie Askew was 23, broke, and a new father in 1998, when he and a friend went into a fresh market where he worked, wearing masks, and demanded cash. It was a stupid and botched robbery. Kelly Burke was a new prosecutor in Georgia, intent on establishing a tough reputation. Angry that Askew had elected to go to trial despite the overwhelming evidence, he won and sought imposition of Georgia's mandatory life without parole sentence. Sound familiar? Young prosecutor trying to make a name. Trial tax. Mandatory sentence with no judicial discretion. Young and immature defendant under intense pressure and making stupid choices.
So here we are 28 years later. Askew is a grandfather and mentor to young prisoners. Burke is retired, dying of cancer, and has spent over a decade trying to right the most serious wrong of his career. This is what a real prosecutor does, although in Mr. Burke's case, it took a long time and the perspective of age and experience to bring him to the conclusion he was part of grievous wrong.
It all came together, as the NY Times reports here, with Burke testifying and advocating for Askew, while, not surprisingly, the Georgia AG was digging in their heels and trying to finish the destruction of a man's life by arguing that the motions were untimely filed. Nothing like throwing up procedural roadblocks when a man's life is at stake.
This is a feel-good (sort of) story. The judge granted the motion and Askew was freed.
The larger lessons here are that 1) young prosecutors often feel the only way for them to make a name for themselves is to be tough on crime because they are no longer taught that the greatest thing they can do in fulfilling their special role in the criminal justice system is to achieve justice; 2) mandatory sentences remove the checks and balances that a (hopefully) fair judiciary can apply when a prosecutor is simply seeking the max; 3) laws need to be reformed to allow these motions to be brought without the untimeliness roadblock prosecutors love to throw.
Victim wants max? At least one prosecutor in Georgia decided (better late than never) that that is not the way to run a criminal justice system.
Will this matter in Miami where the Dade SAO has mostly forfeited their obligation to seek justice, as it is layered with chiefs, assistant chiefs, and nameless supervisors who only want to keep their jobs and won't stick their necks out to do the right thing? Probably not with this administration.
Janet Reno told all prosecutors that their job was to do justice. When was the last time Ms. Rundle said that and meant something other than "victim wants max?" We invite her to respond, but don't hold your breath.
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| Former Prosecutor Kelly Burke, with Mr. Askew's mother, in court, trying to do the right thing. |
