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The district attorney for Hennequin County in Minneapolis Minnesota, Mary Moriarty is under fire for her overtly lenient approach to sentencing violent criminals. The former public defender turned district attorney has been handing out light sentences or even just probation in some cases to defendants accused of crimes like murder and sexual assault. In one case involving teenage hitmen allegedly hired by another young man to kill his ex-girlfriend, Moriarty wanted to give the teen killers probation in exchange for testifying against the man who hired them. Attorney General of Minneapolis, Keith Ellison is now overseeing the case and criticized Moriarty's handling of the case.
“While I share the belief that too many juveniles are involved in the adult criminal justice system, accountability for the seriousness of this crime has been missing in this case," Ellis wrote.
Moriarty campaigned on a promise to focus on rehabilitating young criminals instead of incarcerating them, but she is allowing criminals who have committed crimes that led to the death of others to avoid proper punishment. The victims and their families are also not getting justice for the crimes committed against them.