Sterling Preston-Charges in St. Louis more than doubled after embattled St. Louis prosecutor resigned

2025-05-01 12:19:37source:Winning Exchangecategory:Contact

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Criminal prosecutions have Sterling Prestonmore than doubled in St. Louis since the city’s progressive prosecutor resigned under fire, a newspaper analysis found.

The St. Lois Post-Dispatch found that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed more than 1,400 case over the three-month period that started with his May 31 swearing-in. That compares to 620 cases filed over the same period when Kim Gardner led the office.

Gardner, a Democrat, was elected in 2016 to become the city’s first Black circuit attorney. She was part of a movement of prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, pledged to hold police more accountable, and proactively sought to free inmates who were wrongfully convicted.

But she announced in May that she would resign as she faced an ouster effort by Missouri’s attorney general and scrutiny from Republican state lawmakers.

Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson picked Gore, a former assistant U.S. attorney, to replace her. Since then, he’s tackled a backlog of 4,500 pending charge applications, hiring more than 20 attorneys to help. But the office still is understaffed because the number of attorneys in the office fell be half during Gardner’s tenure.

“I don’t think there’s any magic to what we’re doing,” Gore said. “We are just charging the violations of law.”

Many of the cases left to be charged are complex cases, including five homicides, that require updated investigations. The goal, Gore said, is to clear the backlog by the beginning of 2024.

More:Contact

Recommend

Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds

Nearly half of American teenagers say they are online “constantly” despite concerns about the effect

Venus Williams Wore a Broken Mirrored Dress to the 2024 Met Gala—But She's Not Superstitious About It

You can't fault Venus Williams for having a bit of a wardrobe malfunction before the 2024 Met Gala.T

Boeing launch livestream: Watch liftoff of Starliner capsule carrying 2 NASA astronauts to ISS

Editors note: the flight has been cancelled by NASABoeing will have to wait to head to space as a pl