Norfolk County is about 8% Black, but contains two municipalities with the large Black populations: Randolph at more than 40% and Avon at 32%. Only Brockton in Plymouth County has a higher concentration of Black residents.

As with all jurisdictions, Norfolk deserves a district attorney who will apply the prosecutor’s considerable degree of discretion in ways that are fair to all who become involved with the legal system.

Seven candidates are running to replace Michael Morrissey, who is not seeking reelection after his unsuccessful prosecution of Karen Read for murder. During the first trial, racist and sexist emails written by a State Police investigator assigned to Morrissey’s office were revealed.

Prominent Black people in law are backing Djuna Perkins in the race. Ralph Martin, her former boss as Suffolk district attorney, has endorsed her.

Former public safety secretary Andrea Cabral and Rahsaan Hall, president and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, have donated to her campaign.

The Banner editorial board considers Perkins most likely to bring the requisite sensitivity to racial and gender issues to the job. She has served as an assistant attorney general in Massachusetts and assistant district attorney in Suffolk, where she prosecuted domestic violence crimes and oversaw cases in Dorchester District Court.

Ronald Mitchell
Editor and Publisher, Bay State Banner