Chatham DA faces Democratic challenger at forum hosted by League of Women's Voters
Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones and her Democratic challenger former Assistant District Attorney Jenny Parker squared off during a candidate forum on April 29, hosted by the League of Women’s Voters of Coastal Georgia.
The forum, conducted as a moderated Q&A, sought to encourage voters to get to know the candidates and their platforms before the general primary election on May 21. The questions were submitted by the public, and the candidates were given one minute each to answer the questions.
The winner of that race will face Andre Pretorius, a Republican and a former deputy chief assistant for the Chatham County State Court. He works now on a part-time basis as an assistant Chatham County attorney.
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What did the DA candidates say at the event?
During the one-hour event, voters heard an aggressive back-and-forth between Jones and Parker that revealed, for the first time, how the general Chatham County DA primary election is shaping up.
During the event, which was moderated by WJCL’s Greg Coy, Jones said that her office has delivered on her last campaign’s promise of “Justice for All,” specifically by making the court more efficient, maintaining key units, including the Conviction Integrity Unit, and improving relationships with area law enforcement.
"I want you to know that I do this job for one reason, one reason only, and that is because I believe in fairness and equity," said Jones.
Parker, meanwhile, said the office is understaffed due to Jones’ lack of leadership ability. Parker said the office lacks transparency, has failed to deliver on multiple campaign promises, including failing to advance key units past the developmental stage. Touting her 20-year prosecutorial experience, Parker said multiple ADAs have promised to return to the office if she is elected.
“I share a lot of the District Attorney’s visions, but I disagree with how it has been executed. It has not been executed,” said Parker. “An office cannot be efficient when it is so understaffed. That may have been a campaign promise, but it has not happened.”
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Understaffing at the DA’s office
Parker spoke at-length about the exodus of 44 former Chatham ADAs, who she said have left the office for similar positions in surrounding counties. As a result, Parker said, the Special Victims Unit (SVU) has dissolved.
If elected, Parker said she has promises from 12 former Chatham ADAs who have pledged to return to the DA's office, a point she first brought up in a press release her campaign team issued on April 10.
Jones clarified that it was 39 ADAs who have left the office, most of whom she said have left the state or received a higher salary. On March 28 of this year, Jones sent an emailed letter to Chatham County Manager Michael Kaigler, attributing the loss of ADAs to a “nationwide shortage of prosecutors” largely due to non-competitive pay compared to the private sector, exploding caseloads, growing dockets, and increased time in court. Jones reiterated those points at the DA candidate forum.
Despite the exodus of ADAs, Jones said that since 2021, her office has reduced the COVID-19-induced backlog by nearly half and successfully resolved more murders, serious violent felonies and DUIs than in the three-year period before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jones also said she "takes umbrage" with Parker believing there are no experienced prosecutors in her office, citing the fact that she served as the lead prosecutor on a rape case. What Jones did not mention was that the initial jury trial, which occurred in early April 2023, ended in a mistrial.
Tyrone Glover was initially charged with committing two rapes ― one on Feb. 21, 2020, and another on July 13, 2018. Previous reporting by the Savannah Morning News revealed that as lead prosecutor, Jones failed to show up to multiple hearings, according to local court filings. That case has since been placed on a dead docket by prosecutors while Glover is being prosecuted in a separate federal case.
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How are the units functioning in the DA’s office?
Jones said her office has assigned one paralegal to every judge, who supplement the work of the ADAs, including by helping with discovery, drafting plea documents, and preparing for court. She also added that she has implemented more “community-based programs than any other DA’s office in history,” including the Show us Your Guns program and the Conviction Integrity Unit.
Parker countered that she hasn’t seen the work of any of those units due to the lack of transparency from Jones. Parker added that Jones eliminated the position of the Public Information Officer. Former Chatham County PIO Kyle Glover left the office on Aug. 4, 2023, according to an email he sent. She also added that Jones failed to file numerous campaign contribution disclosure reports and financial disclosure forms since 2020, as previously reported by the Savannah Morning News.
The moderator also mentioned the work between the Justice Innovation Lab and Chatham DA’s Office to audit court data has “appeared to have fallen by the wayside.” Jones “vastly disagreed,” saying “change takes time.” Jones also attributed the lack of transparency to the lack of a data analyst, which needs to be funded by the county or state, said Jones.
Jones did not respond to a text by publication time about statistics maintained by her office regarding those units.
In an email, Jared Fishman, the founding executive director of the Justice Innovation Lab, wrote, "Justice Innovation Lab worked with the Chatham County DA from July 2022 until August 2023. During that time, we provided technical assistance to the DA's office in reviewing data from the office Case Management System. Our partnership ended in August 2023 due to insurmountable challenges, such as lack of necessary staff to carry the project forward."
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How is the DA’s relationship with the police?
The candidates also spoke about the significance of a solid working relationship with the Savannah Police Department.
When Jones took office in January 2021, Jones said she found that many of their major cases were overcharged, underinvestigated, and underdeveloped ― cases Jones alleged Parker often investigated, including one under review because it involved former SPD detective Ashley Wood.
That realization, Jones said, led her team of ADAs to send a memo, as previously reported in March 2022. As a result, Jones said, she created an intake protocol, where the DA’s investigative unit meets with the detectives about major crimes. The investigators and detectives, Jones said, review the cases together before they reach the indictment stage, to make sure the cases are viable.
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“If you want to get with the philosophy of change, and if you want to reduce mass incarceration, if you want to help people, stay on board, and to those who did, I’m glad,” said Jones, who once again called on the state and county to increase funding.
Parker said she would increase training law enforcement officers, specifically on search warrants and how to build stronger cases.
“We had a lot of really talented people working here in Chatham County, and were good at it, who are now working with other district attorney's offices, who want to come back home to Chatham County. People didn’t want to be in this office for the most part. They left because the office was chaotic. The leadership was confusing,” said Parker.
“More than anything, our district attorney's office needs to be fully staffed, and it means experienced prosecutors,” said Parker.
Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavaken@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham County District Attorney candidates discuss platforms at forum
