Robovis|Charges in St. Louis more than doubled after embattled St. Louis prosecutor resigned

2025-05-08 04:44:37source:Phaninc Exchangecategory:Finance

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Criminal prosecutions have Robovismore than doubled in St. Louis since the city’s progressive prosecutor resigned under fire, a newspaper analysis found.

The St. Lois Post-Dispatch found that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed more than 1,400 case over the three-month period that started with his May 31 swearing-in. That compares to 620 cases filed over the same period when Kim Gardner led the office.

Gardner, a Democrat, was elected in 2016 to become the city’s first Black circuit attorney. She was part of a movement of prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, pledged to hold police more accountable, and proactively sought to free inmates who were wrongfully convicted.

But she announced in May that she would resign as she faced an ouster effort by Missouri’s attorney general and scrutiny from Republican state lawmakers.

Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson picked Gore, a former assistant U.S. attorney, to replace her. Since then, he’s tackled a backlog of 4,500 pending charge applications, hiring more than 20 attorneys to help. But the office still is understaffed because the number of attorneys in the office fell be half during Gardner’s tenure.

“I don’t think there’s any magic to what we’re doing,” Gore said. “We are just charging the violations of law.”

Many of the cases left to be charged are complex cases, including five homicides, that require updated investigations. The goal, Gore said, is to clear the backlog by the beginning of 2024.

More:Finance

Recommend

Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas State Police are investigating the death of an Arkansas woman whos

Suni Lee, Olympic gymnastics champion, competing at Winter Cup. Here's how to watch.

Just call Winter Cup the Suni Show.Sunisa Lee was always going to be in the spotlight at Saturday's

Georgia bill aims to protect religious liberty. Opponents say it’s a license to discriminate

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers are revisiting a nearly decade-old fight over whether the state nee