From The Tribune staff reports
JEFFERSON COUNTY — Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr has added his name to the list of elected prosecutors from around the nation “committed to using their discretion and refuse to prosecute those who seek, assist in or provide abortions, calling the criminalization of abortion care ‘a mockery of justice.'”
The Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) released a letter stating that “90 elected prosecutors argue in a joint statement that using limited criminal justice resources to prosecute personal healthcare decisions runs counter to their obligation to pursue justice and promote public safety.”
According to the FJP website, they are “a network of leaders committed to promoting a justice system grounded in fairness, equity, compassion, and fiscal responsibility.”
FJP states that now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, abortion has been or will soon be banned in at least 26 states.
The 90 elected officials state that they approach the issue of abortion from varied personal perspectives but come together in agreement that enforcing abortion bans is a threat to many in their communities: “As elected prosecutors, when we stand in court, we have the privilege and obligation to represent the people. All members of our communities are our clients – they elected us to represent them and we are bound to fight for them as we carry out our obligation to pursue justice. Our legislatures may decide to criminalize personal healthcare decisions, but we remain obligated to prosecute only those cases that serve the interests of justice and the people.”
The FJP also states that “the statement also emphasizes how abortion bans disproportionately harm victims of sexual abuse, rape, incest, human trafficking, and domestic violence, and that many anti-abortion laws either do not provide exceptions for victims of sexual violence or force survivors to choose between reporting their assault or carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term.”
In a joint statement from elected officials, they state that “criminalizing abortion will not end abortion; it will simply end safe abortions, forcing the most vulnerable among us — as well as medical providers — to make impossible decisions. Abortion bans will isolate people from the law enforcement, medical, and social resources they need.”
Attorney General Steve Marshall released this in response to Carr’s decision to not prosecute abortions: “Under Alabama law, the Attorney General has the authority to assume prosecution of any criminal case within the state of Alabama. Should a district attorney refuse to enforce Alabama law, the Attorney General may step in to prosecute the case.”
“We’ll absolutely make sure that the law in Alabama is enforced,” Marshall told Family Research Council TV. “When you see prosecutors who swear an oath to protect, defend and enforce the laws of their respective states, their failure to do so is simply an abdication of their responsibility as a public official. This is not an issue of prosecutorial discretion. I’ve been a prosecutor for 20-plus years of my professional life, and never once did I turn away from enforcement of a law but instead exercised the discretion given to me as a prosecutor to use the resources of my office to make sure that the law was enforced. We’re not going to allow prosecutors in Alabama to turn a blind eye to a clear violation of our law.”
Carr did not immediately respond to the Trussville Tribune’s questions.