DA breaks down new protocol, rebukes likening of justice system to 'revolving door'

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said Wednesday that assistant district attorneys will no longer decide whether or not charges will be filed against police officers who shoot someone.

Instead of ADAs making the decision to file charges against law enforcement, the choice will be added to the plate of the newly minted Justice Review Unit.

"As it relates to officer-involved shootings...I will have the independent Justice review Unit, rather than regular DA staff, make recommendations on whether to charge law enforcement," Mulroy said. "This is consistent with recommended best practices around the country, and a big step in making the review of these difficult cases reliably objective."

Mulroy announced the change during a speech marking his first 100 days in office, in which he highlighted new initiatives and policies aimed at fulfilling campaign pledges.

The Justice Review Unit came from a campaign promise of a system that would look at previous convictions and sentences to make sure they were correct and justly given. The office is headed by Lorna McClusky, a long-time defense attorney, and is mostly independent from the rest of the DA's office.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will still be called to investigate all shooting scenes where an officer was involved, but the decision about whether the officer was justified in shooting someone has fallen to the DA's office.

"In the past, we have done [investigations] with internal staff," Mulroy told The Commercial Appeal. "The problem is that internal staff isn't truly independent — they work with law enforcement all the time."

Mulroy's predecessor, Amy Weirich, did not indict or convict a single police officer who had shot someone during her tenure as district attorney and reports that followed clearing those officers were heavily redacted.

Although Mulroy did not say if he believes the Justice Review Unit taking over the decision will change that precedent, he said the move is in step with his goal of increased transparency and trust between the office and community.

Mulroy said he plans to be the most transparent prosecutor Shelby County has had. While barred from speaking about specific cases, he plans to release what information can be made publicly available.

Mulroy's announcement comes near the end of a month in which Memphis Police have shot three people, including a 20-year-old Atlanta man on Dec. 17. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is review each of the incidents.

Mulroy pushes back against 'revolving door'

Mulroy also pushed back on the idea that the justice system in Shelby County is a "revolving door" amid reflecting on his first 100 days in office.

The rebuke of that concept came as Mulroy explained the importance of having faith in the criminal justice system, but that the faith needs to be restored through "new approaches."

"If some in our community are eager to criticize the criminal justice system as a revolving door, then let's start being honest about what keeps it spinning," Mulroy said Wednesday afternoon. "Over past decades, our consistent response to rising crime has been to lock more people up, and to lock them up longer. We sent children to adult prisons, where they learned to become hardened criminals later in life. We sent adult offenders to prisons with little to no counseling, education, job training, or reentry support and claimed surprise when they predictably resumed their past lives upon release."

By "revolving door," Mulroy said he is attempting to change the connotation behind what is causing recidivism in the criminal justice system. Mulroy said that "revolving door" is commonly used to refer to low bail and shorter sentences as the reason why people reoffend.

Mulroy said he views the issue differently, citing longer prison sentences and more juveniles tried in adult court as causes of people being repeat offenders.

Mulroy's comments about longer prison sentences come after Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Mulroy's Weirich spent most of last year pushing for longer prison sentences. Their push succeeded. The Tennessee General Assembly passed longer mandated sentences for a slew of violent felonies this past session.

In the time since, Strickland has pushed for further sentencing changes and used the term "revolving door" to describe both the juvenile justice system and the state's prison system, including, notably, in the wake of Ezekiel Kelly's alleged shooting spree across Memphis in September.

Samuel Hardiman contributed to this story. He covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Mulroy pushes back on criminal justice system being a "revolving door"