Remarkable news in Jacksonville, Florida, where State Attorney Angela Corey was defeated in the Republican Primary. Corey, who we called “one of the nation's most vindictive prosecutors,” was defeated by Melissa Nelson. Nelson isn’t perfect, but her approach to criminal prosecution is far more reasonable than that of Corey.
Corey was most well known for her failure to convict George Zimmerman. Her prosecution of Marissa Alexander also brought her significant notoriety. She was also recently the subject of The Nation magazine’s cover story. Her racially-based and overly-harsh prosecution made her a poster child for mass incarceration. Last week we reported that:
[Seventy-seven] kids have been charged as adults at Corey's discretion this fiscal year alone, 65 of whom were black. And her jurisdiction "sends 75 percent of the young people charged as adults to prison or jail—the highest rate in the state. (By contrast, Miami-Dade County weighs in at around 12 percent.)"
Unsurprisingly, Corey also loves the death penalty. Duval county, which includes Jacksonville, has only 5 percent of the state's population but 25 percent of its death sentences.
And, in equally remarkable news, Jeff Ashton has been defeated in Orlando after just one term. I covered Ashton last week after his opponent’s husband was being criticized for having a criminal record.
An era of change is upon us.