July 17, 2024
As the ten year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown Jr. draws near, racial justice organizations are sounding the alarm over St. Louis County’s rising jail population with the release of the second “Prosecutor Watch” report. Five years after the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the racially discriminatory and predatory practices of Ferguson’s Police Department and Municipal Court, the Prosecutor Organizing Table was formed by ArchCity Defenders, Freedom Community Center, Forward Through Ferguson, Action St. Louis, MacArthur Justice Center, Organization for Black Struggle, and Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty.
The second “Prosecutor Watch” report asserts that despite early progress, St. Louis County’s jail population has steadily climbed over the last few years and has now nearly reached the levels seen when the office was held by Bob McCulloch, St. Louis County’s prosecutor during the non-indictment of the former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown Jr.
St. Louis County voters ousted Bob McCulloch in hopes that a new prosecutor would deliver on progressive promises to address overcharging, lack of transparency, reliance on cash bail, and criminalization of poverty, drug use, and mental health status. However, as of July 11, 2024, the jail population in St. Louis County has reached the exact same levels seen at the end of Bob McCulloch’s term in 2018.
“As a coalition of organizations leading decarceration and racial justice efforts in the St. Louis region, the Table is appalled that a decade after the Ferguson uprising, justice for the poorest and most vulnerable residents of St. Louis is not only being delayed, but moving backwards,” said Mike Milton, Founder and Executive Director of Freedom Community Center.
According to St. Louis County’s “Justice Dashboard,” the number of people incarcerated pretrial has increased 23% in the past year and 46% in the past two years. There are 60% more Black women behind bars today than there were a year ago. Meanwhile, the nation’s overall jail and prison population has fallen by over 10%. Many people were excited for new leadership in 2019 and remained hopeful after early changes, only to see a return to the policies of mass incarceration. On this score, the disappointing reality is that over the past five years, the United States has decarcerated while St. Louis County has regressed.
The Table aims to provide the public with the tools and knowledge to demand accountability from our region’s prosecutors, securing real progress rather than empty progressive promises. The Table began engaging with the current St. Louis County Prosecutor’s office in Fall of 2022 with a request for data on the Table’s five metrics for evaluating prosecutors: 1) Transparency, 2) Charging Decisions, 3) Pre-Trial Detention, 4) Convictions and Sentencing, and 5) Commitment to Community-Based Alternatives. The County Prosecutor’s office responded with a three-page Google Doc, but not the entirety of data requested by the Table. Following numerous emails, phone conversations, and requests for in-person meetings, the County Prosecutor’s office delivered its official response on January 10, 2024, the substance of which is integrated into the second “Prosecutor Watch” report released today.
The second “Prosecutor Watch” report contains a comprehensive evaluation of the policies and practices of the current St. Louis County Prosecutor’s office, informed by freedom of information requests, independent research, lived experience, and interviews with people impacted by St. Louis County’s carceral system. The St. Louis County-focused report is the second in a series of reports that aim to lay bare the immense power of the prosecutor’s office, share metrics for evaluating prosecutors, and release data that can be used to hold them accountable.
The Prosecutor Organizing Table invites the public to view the “Prosecutor Watch: St. Louis County” summary and full report at prosecutorwatchstl.org, share the summary and report with the hashtag #prosecutorwatch, and stay tuned for upcoming report releases and action steps.
Organizations that are interested in joining the Table are invited to contact Nichole Murphy, Director of Community Partnerships at Forward Through Ferguson by emailing nichole@forwardthroughferguson.org.
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Stay Connected on Facebook (search for organization name), Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter):
ArchCity Defenders: @archcitydefenders (Instagram), ArchCityDefense (X)
Forward Through Ferguson: @stlchange
Freedom Community Center: @fccstlouis
Action St. Louis: @actionSTL
MacArthur Justice Center: @MacArthrJustice (X)
Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty: @madpmo
Organization for Black Struggle: @obs_stl