State's Attorney Mosby Says Gov. Hogan's Letter Came As Surprise, Defends Work Of Prosecutors

Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said her office had worked for months to contact Gov. Larry Hogan's office. Yet when the governor ordered Attorney General Brian Frosh to turn his attention to violent crime in the city, she was taken by surprise.

Though she told C4 on Tuesday she welcomed the help, she stressed her prosecutors have worked "day in, day out" to fight rising rates of violent crime in Baltimore and have gotten state help to secure more victim and witness cooperation.

"So it was rather shocking to receive that letter, especially in light of the fact that Brian Frosh, the attorney general, is not a prosecutor, is not equipped to prosecute criminal cases in Baltimore City," Mosby said.

For his part, Frosh has said his office may need more investigators and prosecutors to fulfill Hogan's request.

Mosby said her office has a 92% felony conviction rate and, of felony cases that end without a conviction, 31% fail due to a lack of cooperation from victims and witnesses.

One of the two men arrested in the shooting of Baltimore police Sgt. Isaac Carrington, she said, had five such prior cases in which witnesses either didn't cooperate or recanted.

"We cannot get these bad guys off the street without witnesses, so that's why it's important for us all to be on the same page," Mosby said.

Mosby also talked about the need to reform Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services. She said courts often waive cases to juvenile court over her prosecutors' objections.

"One instance where prosecutors fought to keep offender in adult jurisdiction... was a two-day hearing and unfortunately he was sent back to juvenile services," Mosby recalled. "He was sent out of town and a year later, he came back and guess what he did. He committed another murder."