PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION
The Cook County State's Attorney's office has been criticized in the past for overcharging defendants in order to pressure them to accept guilty pleas instead of going to trial.
Will you commit to only charging crimes that the evidence clearly supports (i.e., not overcharging). If yes, please share what steps, if any, you would take to ensure that cases are appropriately charged?
CONWAY: |
 |
| I do not support overcharging with the intent to plead down. I intend to only pursue charges with strong evidence and I will ensure that the CCSAO's guidelines reflect that. |
FIORETTI: |
| |
| I will follow the law. When crimes are committed, they will be charged according to the law. It will be the policy of my office from day one to charge defendants with the crimes they are accused of committing. |
FOXX: |
| |
| Upon taking office, my team and I set out our “Mission, Vision, and Values” and this guides our work every day. We pledged to do justice in pursuit of thriving, healthy, and safe communities. We committed to creating a safer, stronger Cook County and approaching every case with integrity, demanding accountability, and increasing our presence in the community. We said that our success would not be measured in convictions, that we believed in doing what’s right and fighting for the best, most fair outcomes, whatever form that takes, based upon the facts, evidence, and the law. We own and assert that it is our responsibility to address the historic inequities in our criminal justice system. Over the past three years, we have prioritized prosecuting violent crimes, bringing greater accountability to police-involved shootings, leading on criminal justice reform with bail, expunging low-level marijuana offenses and exonerating wrongful conviction. |
MORE:
DID NOT RESPOND
O'BRIEN:
DID NOT RESPOND
PFANNKUCHE:
DID NOT RESPOND
