In a memo sent May 13 to Allegheny County Deputy District Attorneys, District Attorney Stephen Zappala instructed them no longer offer plea deals to Milton Raiford, a Black attorney.
The move was first reported by the Tribune Review earlier this month.
In a statement released Thursday, Zappala said he directed his deputy prosecutors to not offer pleas to Raiford without approval from the front office to "ensure that this office makes consistent, evidence based decisions and avoid false claims of racism against this Office and its Assistant District Attorneys."
On Friday, the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus condemned the action by Zappala.
“For the district attorney of any county to say the office will cease plea deals across the board for an attorney’s clients because that attorney has disagreed with the DA publicly is abuse of power, period,” said State Representative Donna Bullock. “But in this particular case, a Black lawyer and his clients, many of them people of color, are being treated differently because the DA refuses to face the criticism of systemic racism in our criminal justice system. This is disgraceful, appalling, disturbing and unacceptable, and needs to be remedied immediately. A full investigation needs to be launched as well with the findings made public.”
“Over the past several years, we have seen the systemic inequality and bias of the criminal justice system laid bare,” said state Rep. Austin Davis, chair of the House Allegheny County Delegation and a PLBC member. “This past week, we have seen just how local this issue truly is in the Allegheny County Court system.
“The district attorney’s decision to refuse all plea deals presented by an attorney solely due to his willingness to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism is an affront to both the court and the community the district attorney is elected to serve, and we cannot let it be ignored.
Related
“Criminal justice reform cannot progress if those in power refuse to see the reality of structural racism. I’m therefore calling for the district attorney to reverse his policy, offer an apology to the attorneys, defendants and community impacted by this decision, and open himself up to a full investigation from the appropriate party.
“Allegheny County residents deserve better.”
State Representative Summer Lee, Vice Chair of the PLBC and Allegheny County Democrat, said it's time for Zappala to go. “To be frank—the comments made by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala are truly disgusting.
“He met criticism of operating a systemically racist office by a well-known Black attorney with more racism. He admitted to dispensing justice differently based on whether a defendant’s lawyer was outspoken against his office. It’s unethical, it’s unacceptable and it’s unfathomable. DA Zappala needs to resign or be removed immediately.”