Joseph L. Wright for States Attorney, Prince George's County, Maryland

Real Experience Matters

Joseph Wright is the only current prosecutor running for State's Attorney. He understands the current problems and solutions to the County's law enforcement piece. He understands the growing gang problem in the County. He is one of a handful of prosecutors to have convicted gang members with the newly enacted gang statute. Joseph Wright has handled death penalty-eligible murder cases and armed carjackings involving gang members.

The following are some excerpts from Joe's successful prosecutions.

Armed Robber Gets 60 Years
Prince George's Gazette

The defendant was charged with three counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, first degree assault and other charges. He found a restaurant employee and forced her to let him inside. Once inside, he forced the manager and another employee to fill a bag with $1,200 from the cash register. Prosecutor Wright commented "the case was solved utilizing a multi-agency partnership in bringing this dangerous criminal to justice."

Police Officer Convicted of Assaulting 4 Teens
Washington Post

A Prince George's County jury yesterday convicted a county police office of assaulting four teenagers when he pepper-sprayed them. This marked the first time in County history that a Prince George's County officer has been convicted in state court.

"This is truly historic, for an officer to be convicted of this sort of crime," said Redmond Barnes of the People's Coalition for Police Accountability.

Ivey's predecessor as state's attorney, Jack B. Johnson, prosecuted 11 police officers for excessive force and other forms of misconduct during his two terms as the county's chief prosecutor. None of the cases ended in a conviction.

Ivey compliments the work of Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Wright, who prosecuted Vessels. Wright prosecuted the case because "we are all held to the same standard of conduct -- citizens and police".

Shoot Out in Streets of Capitol Heights

Ian Sullivan, 22, of Capitol Heights was convicted of 10 counts of attempted murder, first degree assault, and reckless endangerment for acts described as "brazen" by prosecutors. According to the prosecutors' press release, Sullivan argued with his eventual victim after the victim got into his car. After Sullivan threatened he would "settle this", the victim jumped out of the car -- which was moving at least 40 mph -- fracturing his wrist and ribs.

The victim's father was watering the grass in front of his home when he saw Sullivan get out of the car and start shooting. The father saw his son running toward the house with blood all over him from jumping out of the car. At that point, five bullets whizzed past the victim and victim's father. One bullet just missed a 4-year-old grandchild of the victim's father, while another bullet just missed another 14-year-old grandchild who happened to be walking outside at the time.

Joseph Wright prosecuted the case. He said, "This prosecution hopefully will send a signal that mindless violence will not be tolerated in any of our communities. Gun violence is still the leading cause of death of our young men. It cannot be tolerated. "

Joseph L. Wright is running to be the next State’s Attorney in Prince George’s County. He lives in the same community where he grew up, giving him a good foundation for understanding the issues facing the county today. His life in the county and his connections to its people are strong indicators of his principled dedication to a better county. Mr. Wright is knowledgeable about history, committed to the law, and aware of current social challenges.

A “people’s” prosecutor, Mr. Wright is not afraid “…to tackle difficult issues”. He is determined to address policing issues and isn’t afraid to bring charges of police brutality before the courts. As a community prosecutor, Mr. Wright’s day to day professional experience is key to his campaign’s claim that the county needs someone who understands the law and the impact of law enforcement. Mr. Wright is very concerned about illegal businesses, whatever their root causes. He believes it the State’s Attorney’s role to go after drug operations and other illegal enterprises to the fullest extent of the law, including businesses that may act as fronts for such criminal activities.

Mr. Wright took pains to explain to me the challenge of prosecuting a remarkable amount of crime with a staggeringly limited set of resources. Baltimore, with over 200 prosecutors, and Washington, DC, with over 400, work on the same case load level as Prince George’s County’s 75 prosecutors. This lack of staff, in Mr. Wright’s opinion, results in a constant triage and a resulting appearance of inefficiency within the community. This apparent lack of effectuality makes contacting the State’s Attorney’s office difficult, based simply on the number of cases assigned to each prosecutor. The candidate is cognizant that this is not realistically going to change in the near future due to continuing economic constraints, but he is nonetheless equally convinced that it must be addressed as soon as possible.

Mr. Wright believes that the voters of Prince George’s County should assess and judge the success of the State’s Attorney’s office on its transparency, on whether they believe the office is making the right decisions, and whether the office has represented the interests of the county, both in its decisions as well as its actions. He is very positive that the current operations of the prosecutor’s office compare well with other Maryland county offices. Prince George’s County’s leadership in the prosecution of mortgage fraud and economic crime are hallmarks of the first rate capabilities of the State’s Attorney’s office in Prince George’s County.

Professional, experienced and dedicated describe Joseph L. Wright. Thoughtful, intellectual, and philosophic relay the dynamics of our conversation. Mr. Wright’s breadth of understanding and his grasp of information allow him to speak on issues from current politics to environmental justice. Using the tradition of knocking on doors, and unafraid of new generation approaches such as utilizing social media, Mr. Wright is running full speed to do what he loves: support the county and its citizens.

Excerpt from: http://princegeorgian.blogspot.com/2010/07/conversation-with-joseph-l-wright.html