The Democrat District Attorney in charge of prosecuting the Venezuelan migrant accused of brutally murdering Laken Riley has removed herself from the case — amid criticisms that she has failed to secure a single guilty verdict the entire time she has been in office.
Athens-Clarke District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez appointed veteran attorney Sheila Ross to serve as a special prosecutor to instead handle the case against Jose Ibarra for murdering the 22-year-old nursing student who was innocently out for a run.
“We will not allow this or any other case to be used for political gain,” Gonzalez said in a statement.
“Our top priority is the safety of every citizen, and we are fully committed to ensuring that justice is served for the loss of every life.”
She stepped down after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp publicly expressed his concerns that she would not be able to handle the high-profile case.
Critics have also accused her of failing throughout her time at the top.
“Ms. Gonzalez has failed to achieve one guilty verdict in a jury trial involving any type of criminal case,” attorney Kevin Epps, who is suing Gonzalez on behalf of an Athens bar owner, told WSB-TV.
He said he does not believe Gonzalez’s office is properly equipped to prosecute Ibarra.
“We currently have a district attorney that has a complete inability to prosecute this case appropriately,” he said.
State Rep. Houston Gaines, whose district borders the area where Riley’s body was found, also said he has “a real concern about her ability to handle this case,” according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
“She’s not ready to handle this case,” he said.
And when asked Monday whether he felt confident in Gonzalez’s ability to “bring this case, this suspect, to justice,” Gov. Kemp simply replied, “Well, she best do that,” the Banner-Herald reports.
Of all the cases the DA’s office closed in 2023, it chose not to prosecute 46%, 11Alive found.
Of the felonies charged, 130, were pleaded down to misdemeanors — giving most defendants probation, the news channel reported in January.
At other times, cases were dismissed or reduced because prosecutors did not feel they had sufficient evidence or because witnesses no longer wanted to testify.
Follow along with The Post's coverage of Laken Riley's murder
Still, Gonzalez seemed to defend her record in her statement on Monday.
“From day one, our office has worked diligently to keep this community safe from anyone who seeks to do it harm. This includes those who believe that violence is the answer,” she said.
“We will ensure that such individuals are brought to justice.”
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