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We are a collection of lawyers, activists, and grass roots organizations that embrace a vision for criminal justice in Fulton County that rejects past practices and policies that have over-criminalized Fulton County citizens and embraces a less punitive and more compassionate approach to criminal justice. We seek a district attorney who has the courage and compassion to balance the need to keep our community safe, while ensuring that all citizens are treated with dignity by the police and the criminal justice system.

The results of the June Democratic primary election for Fulton County district attorney revealed that a significant number of Fulton County residents favored progressive criminal justice policies over the status quo. There is a growing nationwide chorus of citizens demanding that prosecutors reexamine their role in fueling mass incarceration. Regardless of which of the two remaining candidates becomes the next Fulton County district attorney, we urge both candidates to publicly commit that, if elected, they will use their discretion to adopt and implement the following policies regarding juvenile prosecutions, drug possession, cash bail, and police accountability.

Our community is best served if the criminal justice system treats children as children, through delinquency proceedings in juvenile court, instead of criminal proceedings in superior court.  Therefore, we seek a district attorney who will exercise their legal discretion by declining the prosecution of all children ages 13-17 in the superior court, absent exceptional circumstances, and who will petition for those cases to be conducted in juvenile court, allowing children to rehabilitated under the care of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Under Georgia law, the superior court has exclusive original jurisdiction over the trial of any child 13 to 17 years of age who is alleged to have committed one of seven enumerated offenses. A child 13 to 17 convicted of any one of these crimes would be remanded to the Department of Corrections to serve their sentence with adults, instead of being adjudicated in juvenile court and placed under the care of the Department of Juvenile Justice. The current law transformed the treatment of juvenile offenders from a model that was based on rehabilitation and replaced it with a model based on punishment. However, at any time before indictment, the district attorney has the discretion, after investigation and for cause, to decline prosecution of a child 13 to 17 years of age in the superior court and may instead petition for adjudication of the child in juvenile court. We ask that the candidates commit to this being their policy absent truly exceptional circumstances.

Many citizens arrested and charged with drug possession are suffering from drug addictions and mental health issues that are best addressed as a public health problem rather than a criminal justice problem. Therefore, we seek a district attorney who is committed to resolving arrests relating to substance abuse and mental health disorders through dismissal, pre-indictment diversion programs, or other creative dispositions that do not require the person being charged and potentially having a record.

In Georgia, the possession of more than an ounce of marijuana is a felony punishable by 1-10 years. Possession of heroin, LSD, ecstasy, cocaine or amphetamines, in an amount that is less than one gram, is a felony punishable by 1-3 years, while possession of these same substances in an amount that is at least one gram, but less than four grams of a solid substance, is a felony punishable by 1-8 years. By definition, these offenses criminalize possession of small amounts of drugs that are commonly associated with individual use which should be treated as a public health issue. We ask that the candidates commit to never charging simple drug possession.

Cash bail often punishes and detains poor people, who simply don't have the resources to post bail, and disproportionately impacts poor and minority communities. We seek a district attorney who will commit to supporting and advocating for the reform and elimination of cash bail; who will establish and promulgate internal office policies regarding the presumption of release absent a showing of danger or flight risk; and who will train and ensure that line prosecutors follow procedures which value pretrial release, accounts for an accused's ability to pay, and which promotes alternatives to money bail.

We understand that judges, and not the district attorney, have the sole legal authority to set bond amounts for the pretrial release of a person accused of a crime and awaiting trial. In practice, however, the recommendations of the district attorney usually carry significant weight with most judges. The district attorney can play a critical role to help ensure that judges respect and follow bail laws so that citizens who are presumed innocent and are never being detained pretrial simply because they are too poor to pay bail. We ask that the candidates commit to never seeking money bonds as a means of effectuating pretrial detention.

Prosecutors play a critical role in ensuring that the police are held accountable for misconduct during an arrest, charging decisions, or in their sworn reports and testimony. Although we recognize that the district attorney must work closely with local and state law enforcement officials, we seek a district attorney who is committed to holding the police accountable when they do wrong, and who is committed to conducting independent, transparent, and professional investigations into excessive and unreasonable force allegations against the police.

Our state and nation are currently experiencing a racial divide and crisis, due in large part to the failure of the criminal justice system to prosecute police brutality. While it is important that prosecutors not be unduly swayed by community outrage against the police, it is just as important for prosecutors to apply the law equally to the police when they do wrong. When it comes to prosecuting the criminal laws, there should be no different, or de facto, legal standard for police officers than the standard that applies to everyday citizens.

Asian American Advocacy Fund

Black Trial Lawyers for Racial and Social Justice

Torris J. Butterfield⁠—Associates

The Cochran Firm⁠—Atlanta

Davis Bozeman Law Firm

Faith in Public Life

Gerald A. Griggs LLC

Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta

Legal Action Center

National Incarceration Association

Necessary Trouble Indivisible Group

Racial Justice Action Center

Restore Georgia

The Secret Firm P.C.

Spears & Filipovits LLC

Showing Up for Racial Justice⁠—Atlanta

Women on the Rise GA

The Working Families Party