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Newsbrief:
Leading
Georgia
Prosecutor
Slams
Drug
War,
But
Only
as
He
Retires
1/30/04
As DeKalb County District
Attorney for 21 years, J. Tom Morgan played his part to perfection, operating
the criminal justice machinery that sent thousands of drug law violators
to prison from the Atlanta suburbs. But as he prepared for his retirement
on Saturday, Morgan had some harsh words to say about the war on drugs.
In an interview published
in last Sunday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the award-winning prosecutor
had some blunt warnings to a drug prohibition machine running on autopilot.
People don't trust the cops as much any more, leading to juries that won't
convict, he told the newspaper, and that could lead to vigilante justice
from victims who don't see offenders punished. Much of the problem
lies with the drug war, he said.
"I think our whole war on
drugs needs to be looked at," Morgan said. There is a perception
of unequal justice and a scent of hypocrisy when, on one hand, poor crack
users get sent to prison, "and on the other hand you've got Rush Limbaugh
getting thousands of [prescription pills] and he's making millions of dollars
and he's out on the street," he added.
As a result, Morgan said,
"juries will no longer hold individuals accountable in drug cases... Juries
are telling us that prosecution is not the answer." Jurors no longer
blindly believe police testimony, Morgan said, adding that some jurors
seemed to mistrust all officers when "99.9% of our police officers are
good people."
Morgan, a Democrat, was widely
respected by prosecutors and defense attorneys alike, and was appointed
by Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue as a special prosecutor in the corruption
case against former parole board member and corrections commissioner Bobby
Whitworth. Morgan won a conviction. Last year, he became the
first American district attorney to win a Special Achievement award from
the International Association of Prosecutors. That award came for
his successful prosecution of then-Dekalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey
for the murder of the man who defeated him in the 2000 election, Sheriff-elect
Derwin Brown.
-- END --
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Issue #322, 1/30/04
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Newsbrief: Scotland's First Cannabis Café Opens |
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Newsbrief: More Federal Judges Object to New Sentencing Discretion Limits |
Newsbrief: Leading Georgia Prosecutor Slams Drug War, But Only as He Retires |
This Week in History |
DRCNet Temporarily Suspending Our Web-Based Write-to-Congress Service Due to Funding Shortfalls -- Your Help Can Bring It Back -- Keep Contacting Congress in the Meantime |
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