DA In Case Of Murdered Georgia Jogger, Laken Riley, Recuses Herself Without Explaining Why
From Tampa Free Press
Article By Liam Edgar, Original Publish Date: March 1, 2024
The left-wing prosecutor who would have overseen the case of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley’s accused killer has stepped aside amid concerns that she was not up to the job.
District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, a Democrat based in Athens, Georgia, has brought in a more experienced prosecutor after critics, including Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, questioned her abilities and commitment to seeking justice for Riley.
The 22-year-old nursing student was allegedly murdered on Feb. 22 by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela while she was out jogging. Police arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra in connection with her death.
Gonzalez announced on Wednesday that she would step aside in Ibarra’s case.
In a statement, as reported by WSB in Atlanta, Gonzalez did not fully explain the decision.
Instead, she noted in a statement that she was bringing in “a knowledgeable and well-respected trial attorney with the expertise ready to bring justice on behalf of Laken Riley.”
Gonzalez was hammered by Athens-area lawyer Kevin Epps, who noted to WSB that Gonzalez has “failed to achieve one guilty verdict in a jury trial involving any type of criminal case.”
“We currently have a district attorney that has a complete inability to prosecute this case appropriately,” he added.
Yet there was more concern about Gonzalez’s politics.
The Epoch Times reported last May that Kemp signed a bill creating a Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission to investigate prosecutors who refuse to do their jobs to protect public safety.
Gonzalez, who has declined to prosecute marijuana crimes and who has announced her intention not to seek the death penalty in violent crime cases, denounced the law for creating an “excessive and unnecessary commission” to monitor prosecutors, the Times reported. She noted that’s what elections are for.
But she also was cited by Republicans in the Georgia Legislature as one of the top targets of the law.
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