Green Party Candidate Vies for Detroit District Attorney Job

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 04:05:00 PM EST
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A TalkLeft endorsement: Matthew Abel for District Attorney in Detroit. He's running on the Green Party ticket against current DA Kym Worthy. Abel, whose website is CannibisCounsel, tells the Michigan Concerned Citizen:

Worthy has not prosecuted any Detroit police officer for the killing of a citizen since, as an assistant prosecutor, she prosecuted Larry Budzyn and Walter Nevers for the killing of Malice Green in 1992. During her term, Detroit police officers have committed numerous questionable killings and even public rapes in the guise of cavity searches which have gone unchallenged. The prosecutor is required by law to investigate these killings.

“The prosecutor also needs to be the one to tell the police that we are not condoning illegal searches and traffic stops or issuing bad warrants, that we’re not going to cover up police misconduct,” Abel said.

More...

Many other topics and criticisms of Worthy's administration are included in the article, from forfeiture abuse to racial profiling and more. Hope you will read the whole thing.

I've never cared for the views and policies of current Detroit prosecutor Kym Worthy, ever since hearing her biased commentary during the Jonbenet Ramsey and President Clinton impeachment days, when she served as a Detroit judge.

I know Matthew Abel, having spent time talking to him about his crime policy views at the NORML Aspen Legal seminar this year and last. Here's a picture I took of him:

If you live in Detroit, I hope you will give him your vote for District Attorney.

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Green Party Candidate Vies for Detroit District Attorney Job | 9 comments (9 topical)

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Mmm... (none / 0) (#1)
by JAB on Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 04:10:56 PM EST

Worthy is pretty popular right now, since she took on and brought down Kwame Kilpatrick.

He had me at.... (none / 0) (#2)
by kdog on Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 04:40:44 PM EST

"cannabis":)

The two party duopoly is a tough nut to crack, I wish Abel all the luck in the world...he's gonna need it.

Heh (none / 0) (#3)
by Steve M on Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 04:56:32 PM EST

I assure you that we do not have a two-party duopoly in Detroit!

Worthy has always been pretty much able to punch her own ticket since the landmark Malice Green trial. She won high marks from a lot of people for doing what it took to force Kwame Kilpatrick from office, but I'm sure Kilpatrick's disappointed supporters would be more than happy to get behind a challenger as a result of it all! It will be a case of strange bedfellows, though.

[ Parent ]

That's good to hear.... (none / 0) (#4)
by kdog on Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 05:06:00 PM EST

do alotta third party candidates hold office in Motown? The 2 party duopoly machines have got it pretty much locked by me in NY.

[ Parent ]

Heh (none / 0) (#5)
by Steve M on Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 05:15:06 PM EST

I was ironically noting that it is basically a one-party town, although the mayor's office is nominally nonpartisan (not exactly sure about others).

For decades the city was run exclusively by Coleman Young and his machine. After he passed away, things basically devolved into a battle between his loyalists (who continued to benefit from his corruption) and reformers of various stripes. Party politics don't really enter into it.

Kym Worthy got where she is by neither path, really; as I noted, it was basically a function of personal celebrity from being the prosecutor for an infamous police brutality trial back in the early 90s. I'd note that one of the few good things Coleman Young did for the city is that he integrated the police force, meaning that you no longer have a bunch of uniformed white guys beating the crap out of black guys. Instead, you have the far less toxic situation where a bunch of uniformed white guys AND uniformed black guys beat the crap out of black guys.

[ Parent ]

Duh.... (none / 0) (#6)
by kdog on Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 05:20:44 PM EST

obvious now on the re-read.

Thanks for the background bro.

[ Parent ]

He'll do 20 times as well as in his last race (none / 0) (#7)
by Ben Masel on Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 05:59:13 PM EST

.9% in a 4 way for a suburban House seat in 2006.

[ Parent ]

: Hey! (none / 0) (#8)
by Steve M on Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 06:10:36 PM EST

I know that district, that's where I'm from. Used to be solid Reagan Republican, now pretty much 50/50 red/blue.
Interestingly, even back when Oakland County was totally Republican-controlled, a full 2/3 of county voters supported Jack Kevorkian in his legendary assisted-suicide crusade. The county prosecutor even got voted out of office over it. So there's some support out there for the concept of individual freedom, these aren't your Terri Schiavo Republicans.

[ Parent ]

Worthy and the Green case (none / 0) (#9)
by txpublicdefender on Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 11:26:45 AM EST

I remember watching the Malice Green case on Court TV way back in the day. I seem to remember reading somewhere, though, that the convictions were overturned. Is that right?

I have to give Worthy credit for going after Kilpatrick as she did. I don't know much else about her, though, and it would be nice if we had more sensible prosecutors around the country when it came to things like the "war on drugs."