State Rep. Houston Gaines
Support in the General Assembly already appears to be growing for an effort by state Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, to create a statewide district attorney oversight committee, especially with Gov. Brian Kemp recently attacking some “far-left” district attorneys who often refuse to prosecute criminals in violation of their oath of office.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, for example, has publicly singled out Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzales for openly boasting that she won’t prosecute some drug case, hoping that more people who are arrested are released without requiring cash bail and for declaring that she will never seek the death penalty for murder even though it is permitted by state law.
The Oconee Enterprise has editorialized that the ultraliberal Democrat “has botched some high-profile sex crime cases since she took office in December 2020.” The paper cites a 2022 rape case resulting in a dismissal due to prosecutorial misconduct. Then there’s another case of a man charged with rape and sodomy whose case was dismissed. And last month an Athens child sex trafficking case was dismissed “due to prosecutors failing to grant the defendant’s demand for a speedy trial,” according to the Classic City News.
In light of these and other of Gonzales’ dereliction of duties, The Oconee News editorially supports the General Assembly creation of an oversight committee with the ultimate power to investigate and ultimately remove errant district attorneys.
It also concludes that “If done fairly and without partisan politics, this is a good check and balance for other parts of the state too.”
