The “progressive” prosecutor who prosecuted the case for the migrant who brutally murdered nursing student Laken Riley said she would not seek the death penalty because it would have “collateral consequences for undocumented suspects.”
Jose Ibarra, 26, was convicted on all 10 counts Wednesday for his brutal murder of the 22-year-old Augusta University student while she was jogging and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Many Republicans were shocked that Ibarra, an undocumented migrant from Venezuela, was not given a death sentence.
Deborah Gonzalez, a liberal prosecutor funded by George Soros, said in February that her office would “no longer seek the death penalty” because life without parole is already a “very substantial punishment.”
Gonzalez made several other “soft-on-crime” policy decisions out of a desire to influence “the community’s fundamental belief in the system.”
That included not charging simple marijuana violations, not using mandatory minimum sentences and “taking into account collateral consequences for undocumented suspects.”
She was forced to drop the case and appoint a special prosecutor after being unable to obtain convictions. She has also been criticized before dismiss charges against a child molester who was later convicted of the attack and even her own former supporters believe she is incompetent.
She lost her re-election campaign in November to an independent by 20 points.
‘Progressive’ prosecutor Deborah Gonzalez said she would not seek the death penalty for Laken Riley’s killer because it would have ‘collateral consequences for undocumented suspects’
Riley’s body was found less than an hour after she was reported missing near a lake on the University of Georgia campus
Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, rejected the decision and called for the death penalty for Ibarra, who entered the country illegally.
Georgia Senator Colton Moore demanded that Attorney General Chris Carr file an emergency motion seeking the death penalty and denounced the Democratic prosecutor in charge of the case, Deborah Gonzalez.
“I officially call on Attorney General Chris Carr to file an emergency motion to intervene and seek the death penalty for Laken Riley’s killer,” Moore wrote on X.
“Prosecutor Deborah Gonzalez let her radical political agenda get in the way of justice.
“By refusing to seek the death penalty, she has denied Laken’s family, friends and community the full measure of justice they deserve.
“Join me in calling on AG Chris Carr to seek the death penalty for Jose Ibarra.”
These types of decisions are considered the main reason why Gonzalez lost her reelection by 20 points to independent Kalki Yalamanchili, in a race in which Gonzalez ran 16 points behind Kamala Harris, who won the district.
When Gonzalez took office, she issued a memorandum outlining revised policies on prosecution, sentencing and rehabilitation programs. But she quickly withdrew it due to strong reactions.
Gonzalez made several other “soft-on-crime” policy decisions out of a desire to impact “the community’s fundamental trust in the system.”
“I think part of this is because I am outspoken and unapologetically a Democrat, and I consider myself a progressive prosecutor,” Gonzalez said of the criticism.
“There are a lot of prosecutors who don’t like that word ‘progressive,’ but to me it means we need to look at this differently. … We must always ask ourselves, ‘Is this in the interest of justice?’
When Gonzalez took office, dozens of staff members left.
While turnover is common as new prosecutors take office and offices across Georgia face staffing shortages, it is especially pronounced for progressive prosecutors.
The early exodus in Gonzalez’s office was caused by disagreements over policy, said Patrick Najjar, a former prosecutor under Gonzalez. But it wasn’t long before the office went into a “downward spiral” due to poor management, he said. He added that he was overwhelmed by his workload and left after five months.
June Teasley, who left Gonzalez’s office, said Gonzalez did not have the criminal justice experience for the job.
“People left Deborah’s office because they couldn’t function under her inconsistent attempt to be a progressive prosecutor,” Teasley said.
Girtz, the mayor of Athens-Clarke County, endorsed Gonzalez when she ran for the state House and for DA. But in November, Yalamanchili backed.
Jose Ibarra, 26, was convicted on all 10 counts for his brutal murder of the 22-year-old Augusta University student while she was jogging and sentenced to life in prison without parole
“Even if you call yourself a progressive, part of that is making sure the wheels of justice turn and don’t grind to a halt,” Girtz said. ‘And unfortunately the wheels don’t turn so smoothly these days.’
Yalamanchili has said he would clean up the “general dysfunction” in the office, including low conviction rates.
Gonzalez blames staff shortages and said she has hired eight prosecutors in recent months.
Gonzalez has also faced legal reprimands, including that he had been mentioned at least four times for not communicating with victims about issues and charged with trespassing laws for opening documents.
She said her critics are trying to distract from her office’s achievements, which include deleting people’s records, re-sentencing five people and referring 15 youth to restorative justice programs.
Donald Trump paid tribute to ‘beloved’ Laken Riley after an undocumented migrant was found guilty of her murder, while Republicans demanded he be given the death penalty.
‘JUSTICE FOR LAEKEN RILEY! The illegal who murdered our beloved Laken Riley has just been found GUILTY on all counts for his heinous crimes,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website.
“While the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for justice, and ensure that other families don’t have to go through what they went through.” , he said.
Former President Donald Trump expressed hope that a judge’s death penalty verdict “can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family” of the late Laken Riley
Trump used emotional language, one day family and friends gave dramatic testimony to the judge and shed tears in the courtroom.
‘We love you, Laeken, and our hearts will always be with you. It is time to secure our border and remove these criminals and thugs from our country so something like this cannot happen again!” Trump wrote.
Trump and other Republicans often cited Riley’s killing, falsely claiming that migrants crossing the southern border illegally were responsible for a wave of violent crime.
He spoke about her case at the Republican convention, where he blamed the Biden administration for letting her killer in.
Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley, 22, on a wooded trail while she was running on Feb. 22 and killed her after she resisted his attempts to rape her.
In her closing statement earlier Wednesday, prosecutor Sheila Ross called the evidence against Ibarra “overwhelming,” including DNA under her fingernails that authorities linked to the defendant, scratches on Ibarra’s body and video footage of a man matching Ibarra’s description wearing a bloody jacket threw the body. a dumpster shortly after the murder.
Defense lawyers argued that the evidence was circumstantial and could not rule out a new attacker.
Riley’s case made national news in March during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, when U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene interrupted his speech to demand he “say her name.”
Biden went off script to mention Riley, whom he described as an innocent woman who was killed by an “illegal.” Republicans criticized him for mispronouncing Riley’s first name, while Biden later apologized for using the word “illegal” to refer to a person.
Biden, then the Democratic nominee for president, dropped out of the race in July and was replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump earlier this month.
Trump has pledged to pursue mass deportations of immigrants after he is sworn into office in January.