The top prosecutor where George Floyd was murdered is facing backlash. But she has vowed to endure
MINNEAPOLIS — Voters in Minnesota’s largest county chose Mary Moriarty as their top prosecutor after she promised to bring change to a community where George Floyd was murdered and a national settlement about racism in the criminal justice system.
After Moriarty, a former prosecutor, became Hennepin County’s district attorney in January 2023, she vowed to make police more accountable and change the culture of an office she believes has focused too much on punishment without addressing the root causes of crime.
Her election came as the Minneapolis area was still reeling from the 2020 killing of Floyd by a police officer and the subsequent protests and prosecutions of police. Moriarty’s two immediate predecessors had a combined 31 years in office, and her promises of dramatic change drew support from the state’s Democratic Party, community leaders and voters hungry for a new approach.
But just 18 months into her four-year term, Moriarty is facing fierce backlash, even from former supporters. Her critics have questioned her decisions to seek lighter sentences for violent crimes in some cases and to send more people to programs instead of prison.
Moriarty has had public quarrels with the state’s Democratic governor, and in some cases she found herself caught between groups with differing political views.
She faced heavy criticism from police officers, local officials and some progressive activists after she charged a white police officer with the killing of a black man last summer, but later reversed her position and drop the charges.
Leaders of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association had conducted a high-profile campaign and urged Tim Walz, the state’s Democratic governor, to remove the prosecution from Moriarty. This month, the association filed an ethics complaint against Moriarty, alleging that she knowingly made false statements about the case, a claim she denied.
While Moriarty remains committed to her approach, she acknowledges that her initial support has waned.
“There have been times when I’ve asked myself, is this the city where George Floyd was murdered? But at the same time, when I look at it historically, there’s always a backlash when there’s progress,” Moriarty said. “There’s no difference in this than when people in the past tried to change systems that have been in place for decades.”
Moriarty was elected among a wave of progressive district attorneys who took office in the wake of Floyd’s killing and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests. In Oregon, voters voted in May to replace a progressive district attorney with a centrist candidate backed by police groups who have vowed to crack down on crime in the Portland area amid frustrations over violence related to homelessness and drug use. That same month in California’s Bay Area, Alameda County supervisors to call a recall election for a prosecutor who campaigned on a platform of offender rehabilitation and police accountability.
The crop of progressive prosecutors promised a more thoughtful approach to holding people accountable, but for many it was a challenge that left them behind vulnerable on complaints that they would endanger public safety.
Moriarty, a former chief public prosecutor for the province, was elected over a former judge with almost 58% of the votes.
Some of her former supporters now say her approach has gone too far. Matt Pelikan, a former Democratic candidate for attorney general who donated to Moriarty’s campaign, said the office under Moriarty took a permissive approach that led to some criminals being released only to quickly reoffend.
“I supported Mary because I believed, and I still believe, that the old formula didn’t work,” Pelikan said. “But I think Mary went further and didn’t adhere to the goals of that office, which is safety and justice.”
Under Moriarty’s leadership, there has been an increase in cases of “diversion,” which often involves referring someone who has committed a crime to a program they must complete to avoid prison time.
Jared Mollenkof, who worked with Moriarty as a public defender, said she made the prosecution of juveniles more fair by restructuring the region’s approach to juvenile prosecution, emphasizing alternatives to incarceration.
“I think there has been a real reorientation so that prosecutors can make offers that were not available to them before, either because of office policy or just to monitor perceptions of what was acceptable,” Mollenkof said.
In 2023, the number of juvenile cases referred by the Hennepin County Prosecutor’s Office increased by 36% compared to 2022. For adult cases, that number increased by 81% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Moriarty’s office said initial data shows that those who participated in diversion programs are less likely to reoffend than those who were not diverted. Critics say Moriarty has downplayed the concerns of crime victims and damaged public trust in her office.
Martha Holton Dimick, the former judge who defeated Moriarty in 2022, said Moriarty bases her decisions on complaints she developed when she, as a career prosecutor, clashed with lawyers from the same firm she now heads.
“I told people during the campaign that this was her revenge tour,” Dimick said.
In an interview, Mike Freeman, Moriarty’s predecessor, declined to speak in detail about Moriarty’s accomplishments, but said he believes some of her juvenile justice initiatives “have gone too far” and that the office has lost a number of experienced attorneys since her election.
One of those attorneys is Gretchen Gray-Larson, who worked at the district attorney’s office for 33 years. She said she opposes “draconian” drug laws and favors a progressive approach to prosecution. But she decided to retire last July, in part because she didn’t want to work for Moriarty. She said her colleagues who stayed on were overwhelmed by the departures and the oppressive atmosphere.
“People are afraid to talk,” Gray-Larson said. “The morale is terrible.”
According to internal staffing figures obtained in late June, Larson is one of more than 150 staffers who have left their positions at the firm since the month Moriarty was elected. Total employment at the firm was up 21 staffers, though that figure includes administrative positions other than attorneys.
Moriarty said she is now implementing changes that have forced some prosecutors to examine uncomfortable truths about past failures.
“This is true for many prosecutors who have been in office for decades. Sometimes it’s hard to look back on your career and what you’ve done and recognize that you’ve caused harm.”
There is a sense among Moriarty’s supporters that she is being oppressed by established leaders at the city and state level.
Chaz Neal, 47, grew up in Minneapolis and lived in one of the city’s highest crime neighborhoods until a few months ago. Neal is black, a political conservative and has a criminal record. Despite his right-wing views, he supports Moriarty because of his experiences in the criminal justice system.
“I think when people look at her policies and read them, they’ll see that she’s there for the people,” Neal said.
Moriarty said she is running for re-election and wants to continue pushing for change, regardless of the negative reactions.
“There are people who have been critical, who are concerned about their own political ambitions, and who are happy to accommodate whatever group they think will help them,” Moriarty said. “I have not done that.”