Who is Mary Moriarty? Minneapolis prosecutor goes easy on violent criminals angering victims' families
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty is at odd with the relatives of Minneapolis crime victims as they they think the convicted killers of their family members were given lenient punishments.
Moriarty became the district attorney in January 2023, after a somewhat contentious election.
Termed as a “progressive prosecutor,” Moriarty described herself as “a fierce advocate for fighting systemic injustices” intending to “put a spotlight on racial biases in the criminal legal system," per Daily Mail.
However, the family members of the victims now want her to change her stance as they believe the killers have not received the punishment they deserve.
Victim's family asks 'why are drug dealers getting away with murder?'
Mother of deceased Kailey Caspersen, a 25-year-old who died in 2021 after taking fentanyl-laced painkillers sold to her by Jesse Lietzau, has contested the sentencing of Lietzau.
Lietzau had five misdemeanor convictions and was charged with third-degree murder. He even admitted that he knew the painkillers were mixed with fentanyl but didn’t tell the victim.
While his charge could carry up to 25 years behind the bar, the prosecutors have only asked the criminal be put on probation and up to 240 days in jail.
He is awaiting his sentence in November.
Kailey's mother, Nancy Caspersen, protested last week in the court by holding up signs reading, “Why are drug dealers getting away with murder?”
15-year-old murderer may not serve time if he pleads guilty
The mother of 39-year-old paralegal Stephen Markey, who was shot and killed by carjackers Jared Ohsman, 17, and Husayn Braveheart, 15, is also not happy with the case's judgment.
Catherine Markey, mother of Stephen Markey, requested a review of the decision.
While Ohsman was tried as an adult and was sentenced to almost 22 years behind the bars, Braveheart has been offered five years probation if he pleads guilty.
It will mean if he behaves well, he will not have to serve the prison sentence.
Stephen’s father Jerry Markey said, “It is an insult to my son, but that's not the point,” before adding, “My son is gone. Nothing brings him back.”
He added, “But it is also a danger to everyone who lives in Hennepin County. Do you want your daughter to park your car where this guy can see her and potentially carjack again? This man is violent multiple times. He has shown it. He deserves a long prison sentence.”
Mary Moriarty advocates finding 'best solution' to make the public safer
In January 2023, when Moriarty was sworn in as the Chief Public Prosecutor, she told the media, “Historically, in the criminal system, we end up doing what's always been done.”
She then added, “There is a lot of research and data that shows us that what we have done in the past is not only not best for public safety, it is actually the opposite," per MPR News.
Moriarty, who served in the Public Defender’s Office for more than 30 years, including 6 years as Chief Public Defender, had clarified that she sought to work with others despite the prevalence of different opinions.
Sharing an instance, she said, “I was talking to someone in the office who was talking about our role as prosecutors, ‘Shouldn't it be to punish?’” before questioning, “Is that our job? Or is our job to figure out what will be the best solution in this case to make the public safer?”
She said to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "I think it takes a lot of courage actually to act upon what you say you're going to do," before adding, "I knew we would get a lot of pushback."
She continued, "But if you're truly going to make change, if you truly are about your values, and you want to have integrity, and you believe in research and look at the data, these are the right decisions and I stand by them."
Moriarty is termed as one of the ‘progressive prosecutors’
Associate professor of law at the University of Colorado Law School, Benjamin Levin, described “progressive prosecutors” as those who had broader areas of interest apart from crime and conviction rate.
Levin explained, “For example, if you have a progressive prosecutor, who has stated that one of their goals is to address racial disparities in the enforcement of criminal law, one of the ways of gauging success might not actually have anything to do with crime rates, it might have to do with with the race of people who are being prosecuted.”
Levin views the new generation of prosecutors who are getting elected since the last decade as lawyers who developed interest in prosecution not to punish, but to use “their power as prosecutors to do justice in some broader sense.”