Kenneth Thompson: Could he become the first black district attorney of Brooklyn?
theGRIO Q&A - Former federal prosecutor Kenneth Thompson pulled off an upset earlier this month when he defeated a six-term incumbent to become the district attorney of New York City’s largest borough...
On that note, how do you plan on fostering better relations between the NYPD and blacks and Hispanics who feel targeted by the NYPD? How do you re-instill faith in the justice system after the recent wrongful conviction decisions?
Yes. Well, the pattern of wrongful convictions that have been coming out of the Brooklyn DA’s office must come to an end. I intend to put together a really strong conviction integrity unit. I intend to make sure that we investigate these many cases that this retired detective, Louis Costello, worked on. He’s at the heart of a number of these questionable cases. I intend to give the people of Brooklyn confidence in the convictions that come out of the office and I’m going to make sure that my prosecutors are adequately trained from beginning to end…I want to make sure that our prosecutors are clear that our objective is to do justice, not just to get a conviction. I intend to bring training to the prosecutors in the Brooklyn DA’s Office to make sure that everyone understands their role and make sure that the criminal justice system is based on fundamental fairness.
You’ve worked on some high-profile cases. There was the Abner Louima case, representing Nafissatou Diallo in the DSK case and others where you’ve represented marginalized people. How has that informed your vision for the Brooklyn DA’s Office?
I try to fight the good fight. I stand up for what I believe in and the people of Brooklyn are going to have somebody who’s going to be a champion for them. I call it like I see it. Many of the cases I’ve had have been very difficult. I hope to usher in a new era in Brooklyn, an era of fundamental fairness in the criminal justice system.
In your experience with voters along the campaign trail, is the message of “fundamental fairness” what you that what you think they were responding to, what led to your win?
Yes, yes. Look, the bottom line is everyone wants to remain safe, that’s the number-one priority of a prosecutor, to keep people safe, safe on the streets, safe in their homes. But I also believe that it’s very important that the criminal justice system is based on fairness towards everyone regardless of how much money you have, or where you live, or where you come from. I intend to have one standard of justice in Brooklyn for all.
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