Legal Community, Public Officials Mourn the Death of Brooklyn DA

New York’s legal community, city and state officials shared an outpouring of grief and condolences Sunday night and Monday over the death of Kenneth Thompson, who lost his battle with cancer Sunday at age 50.
 
“All of Brooklyn is shocked and deeply saddened by [Thompson’s] sudden passing,” Frank Seddio, president of the Brooklyn Bar Association and chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, said in a statement. “His leadership in restoring vitality to Brooklyn’s top law enforcement office, and his commitment to justice for all were firmly demonstrated by his fight to free those who were wrongly convicted.”
 
Thompson’s passing came just five days after the Brooklyn DA’s office revealed Thompson had been diagnosed with cancer and had designated his chief deputy, Eric Gonzalez, to run the office while he received treatment. Thompson’s office did not specify with what type of cancer he was diagnosed.
 
The statement stated he had a “hard fought battle with cancer,” and his family was at his side at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital when he passed.  
 
Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a statement saying he was “profoundly saddened” at the loss of a “dedicated public servant.” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement that he was “devastated” to learn thar Thompson had died. 
 
“Ken had an indelible impact on Brooklyn, our city, and our criminal justice system. with a sense of fairness and respect for everyone in the courtroom and cared deeply and fought hard to advance the cause of civil rights,” he said. “As an elected official, Ken embodied the highest ideals of public service, always doing what he believed was right, not just what was popular.”
 
Eastern District U.S. Attorney Robert Capers, who heads the office where Thompson had prosecuted the case against a police officer accused in the 1997 assault of Abner Louima, said Thompson brought the same “work ethic and determination” to the Brooklyn DA’s office as he had when serving as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District.
 
“In just two and a half short years, he brought tremendous change to the residents of Brooklyn,” Capers said.
 
Thompson became Brooklyn’s first black district attorney when he took office in 2014, He established a conviction review uni that has become a model for other prosecutors’ offices. It has exonerated 21 people. Last year, he announced that the unit would expand its work to review non-murder cases.
 
“Ken became the role model for prosecutors all over the United States in understanding the difference between a prosecutor defending convictions and a prosecutor seeking justice,” said Peter Neufeld, a co-founder of the Innocence Project.
 
Thompson also built on a program that started under his predecessor, Charles Hynes, to hold warrant forgiveness events, now called the “Begin Again” program. His office has held four events, which attracted about 2,600 attendees and resulted in the clearance of about 1,700 warrants with no arrests. After Begin Again was launched, Thompson’s counterparts in the Bronx and Manhattan launched their own forgiveness programs.
 
Thompson also created an immigrant fraud unit, a labor frauds unit, a cybercrimes unit, a hate crimes unit, a crime strategies unit and a violent criminal enterprises bureau in the DA’s office, and formalized a policy not to prosecute low-level marijuana offenses for individuals with no prior arrests or minimal criminal histories.
 
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark called Thompson “a true warrior in the fight for justice.”

“In his short tenure, he was in the vanguard of a new approach to criminal justice … that I and other prosecutors have emulated,”she said in a statement. “May he rest in peace and may his family find some comfort in his splendid legacy.”
 
Brooklyn Law School Dean Nicholas Allard called Thompson “a model of prosecutorial integrity.”
 
“His commitment to justice and advocacy for minority communities set an example for us all and leaves a lasting legacy,” Allard said. “In life, Ken Thompson was a source of great pride and hope to many; in death, his memory will continue to inspire many more people, including new lawyers who seek to follow his example as a champion of fair and equal justice under the law for all.
 
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Charlene McCray, said in prepared remarks that Thompson had “a life and promise cut far too short.”
 
“Our city was blessed with but a glimpse of Ken’s unwavering commitment to justice and his unrivaled pursuit of a more fair system for all those he served,” they said. “Our courtrooms and our communities have no doubt been dealt a blow with Ken’s passing, but I am confident the indelible mark left by his public service will forever be a part of the fabric of our justice system.”