By Viviane Faver
In line with a move to end racial disparities in the US criminal justice system, Rachael Rollins in Boston, Sherry Boston in Atlanta, and Satana Deberry in Durham, North Carolina, were approached by Democratic congressmen or members of the Biden transition team about the possibility of leading some of the 93 US prosecutor’s offices.
They are part of a growing national movement of “progressive prosecutors” who support efforts to eliminate racial disparities by rejecting the traditional culture of “hard on crime” that has led to the disproportionate incarceration of black men.
The movement has gained momentum since protests across the country following George Floyd’s assassination by the Minneapolis police in May.
Choosing any of the three women would add racial diversity to the Justice Department’s top positions and mark the departure from the usual types of candidates for these jobs, which are often offered internally or to lawyers in high-level law firms with previous experience in the department.
Merrick Garland, appointed by Biden to head the department as attorney general, told the Senate last month that he believed that the criminal justice system does not treat Americans of all races equally.
Rollins, Boston, and Deberry are among more than a dozen progressive prosecutors who have signed letters endorsing Garland’s nomination, as well as that of Lisa Monaco, chosen by Biden as the second Justice Department official.
