As your Marion County Prosecutor, I have utilized my years of experience as a major felony prosecutor to create a standard of excellence in Marion County courtrooms. With nearly one in every five criminal jury trials in Indiana being prosecuted in Marion County, trial teams have never had more success in the courtroom, holding people accountable for violent crimes and murders.
There is no simple solution to addressing violent crime. As prosecutors, our priority is to hold those accountable who harm others in our community. During my years in the courtroom, I have served on the front lines of prosecuting violent crime, working through the process with victims’ families who have suffered the tragic loss of a family member to violence.
Serving as the lead Prosecutor in cases with emotional stories and grieving family members allowed me to see the impact of violent crime not as a speaking point but as a terrible reality, no family should have to experience. For those who continue to seek answers and are unable to seek justice in unsolved crimes, we must do better.
The lack of trust between the community and the criminal justice system presents challenges to solving and prosecuting violent crime. That is why I have invested in building trust through taking a different approach to non-violent issues such as no longer prosecuting marijuana possession and restoring driver’s licenses.
As Prosecutor, I am also committed to having not only a standard of excellence at every level but also to having diversity in leadership. I believe that those who make important decisions about filing and prosecuting criminal cases in Marion County should be part of and reflective of the community.