The Peach State is joining the chorus of states that have had enough of soft-on-crime prosecutors. On Friday, Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.) signed a bill into law that creates a commission to discipline and potentially remove prosecutors who don’t do their jobs.
“I am not going to stand idly by as rogue or incompetent prosecutors refuse to uphold the law,” Kemp said at the signing ceremony in Savannah, Ga. “Today we are sending a message that we will not forfeit public safety for prosecutors to let criminals off the hook.”
Georgia isn’t alone, of course. The Associated Press reports that Georgia’s new law joins “pushes to remove prosecutors in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and Pennsylvania, as well as broader disputes nationwide over how certain criminal offenses should be charged.”
One of the provisions of the law is that prosecutors must look at every case with probable cause and cannot dismiss entire categories of cases outright, a common Democrat tactic.
“Experts have said that considering every case individually is unrealistic, because prosecutors turn down many more cases than they charge,” reports the AP. “However, it’s unclear if the new law will change prosecutors’ behavior or just lead them to avoid talking publicly about charging decisions.”
Naturally, the Democrats in Georgia are livid because they won’t be able to get away with letting criminals off the hook or giving heinous offenders a slap on the wrist.
“I strongly oppose an excessive and unnecessary commission as district attorneys are already held accountable under existing laws and through the current democratic process of holding election,” said Deborah Gonzalez, district attorney for Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties.
Gonzalez is in an unusual position in that she serves a circuit that consists of one of the most left-wing counties (Athens-Clarke) and a solid GOP stronghold (Oconee). She’s also a Democrat, and many believe that she’s one of the Republicans’ top targets for her left-leaning policies.
Another DA who’s spitting mad over the new law is Fulton County’s Fani “Look at me! I’m targeting Trump!” Willis. She resorted to the platinum record of all the Democrats’ greatest hits to register her criticism of the statute.
“Willis has also decried the measure, calling it a racist attack after voters elected 14 nonwhite DAs in the state,” which is interesting because the new law doesn’t mention the race of DAs who might face the new commission.
“Some have viewed the law as Republican retribution against Willis, who is considering criminal charges against former President Donald Trump over interference in Georgia’s 2020 election,” the AP adds. That may be true to an extent, but Democrats in the state considered a similar measure of their own after the Glynn County district attorney badly botched the case of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in 2020.
This new Georgia law, which takes effect July 1, is part of a positive trend nationwide in pumping the brakes on prosecutors who don’t prosecute. Here’s hoping it will help stem the tide of crime that has gripped our nation.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member