Gov. Kemp signs prosecutors oversight commission into law at Chatham County Sheriff's Office

As part of a tour through the Savannah-area today, Gov. Brian Kemp signed S.B. 92 at the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office on Carl Griffin Drive, making official a law that creates a Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight Commission for district attorneys and solicitors-general across Georgia. Kemp appeared earlier in the day at the future site of the Hyundai Metaplant in Bryan County to sign into law a sales use tax exemption

Among other responsibilities, the eight-member commission, consisting of five investigators and three hearing panel members, will “have the power to discipline, remove, and cause involuntary retirement of appointed or elected district attorneys or solicitors-general.”

Opponents of the law fear it circumvents the will of local voters and prevents district attorneys from pursuing some restorative justice measures, such as diversion programs, in favor of harsher criminal charges. Supporters suggest the commission provides necessary oversight to discipline district attorneys and solicitors-general who do not prosecute certain crimes, such as the state's six-week abortion ban.

Senate Bill 92 by Amy Condon on Scribd

At the press conference accompanying the signing, Kemp said, "People are finally fed up with local prosecutors that simply are not doing their job."

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Kemp continued, "I wouldn't want to speak to any individual things that's going on in the [Chatham County District Attorney's Office] because I haven't been privileged to those conversations, but that's why people are outraged. Because when you have things like ... prosecutors leaving because of incompetency, and you have offices, whether it's Chatham County or anywhere else in the state, it's raisin' a lot of eyebrows, citizens are concerned about that. And plus, you have dangerous criminals getting off scot-free because people simply don't know how to do their job, and that's why the legislature and our office wanted to tackle this issue."

The signing of S.B. 92 comes at a time when Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones faces increased scrutiny for pleading down, or reducing, murder convictions to lesser charges, such as manslaughter. Since taking office in January 2021, Jones has faced a backlog of cases, exacerbated by the COVID-19 shutdown of courts, staffing shortages ― including three ADAs who quit last month, and accusations of fostering a discriminatory culture within the office.

Jones did not respond to messages by publication time asking for comment about how the bill could impact her office, but other district attorneys contacted by the Savannah Morning News offered their insights.

In a phone call, Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley described S.B. 92 as needlessly redundant.

"The state bar is already in place," said Mosley. "If we violate one of the rules of bar's ethics, there's an investigation that goes before the Supreme Court to make a determination what our punishment should be."

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston issued a statement via email: "Not only is Senate Bill 92 an assault on prosecutorial discretion and independence – it’s a direct attack on the nature of our democratic process. This legislation seeks to disenfranchise voters in local communities who do not elect so-called ‘tough-on-crime’ candidates.”

Drew Favakeh is the public safety reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signs SB 92 prosecutor oversight commission in Savannah