Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore’s State’s Attorney, who overcharged several police officers for the death of Freddie Gray, only to see all of those officers acquitted or the charges against them dismissed, has been defeated in her re-election bid by Baltimore’s voters.
The Baltimore Sun article which informed us of her defeat, contained this odd paragraph:
“When first elected, Mosby was part of a new wave of progressive prosecutors who sought to address the systemic racial inequities in America’s criminal justice system. She quit prosecuting minor offenses like drug possession, trespassing and prostitution — which disproportionately impacted poor Black residents.”
If society has deemed certain behaviors to be anti-social or destructive, and therefore criminal, shouldn’t elected law enforcement officials, such as state’s attorneys and district attorneys, prosecute people who exhibit these behaviors? Or should they NOT prosecute people who break certain laws when the law-breakers are predominantly members of racial minority groups? What would be the justification for that course of action (or inaction)?
Did Mosby “quit prosecuting minor offenses like drug possession, trespassing and prostitution” BECAUSE they “disproportionately impacted poor Black residents”? If so, isn’t that racist of her? If you don’t prosecute certain crimes because too many of the perpetrators are of a certain color, how is that decision NOT racist? And how does the decision not to prosecute BECAUSE OF THE PERP’S COLOR affect the community?