NEWTON — Candidates for Norfolk County district attorney laid out competing visions for the future of a controversy-ridden office during the first public forum of the race last Wednesday at Boston College Law School, hosted by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy.
Speaking before a room of students, legal professionals, and community members, four of the six Democrats vying for the office — Djuna Perkins, Jim Barakat, Macy Lee, and Adam Deitch — all agreed on one point: after the September primary and November general election, the next district attorney’s central task will be restoring public trust after 16 years under outgoing DA Michael Morrissey.
Morrissey’s office has faced intense scrutiny over its handling of several high-profile cases, most notably the prosecution of Karen Read in the death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe. A jury found Read not guilty of murder, and questions about the integrity of the investigation drew international media attention.
The office has also come under scrutiny in the death of Sandra Birchmore, a 23-year-old whose case is now being investigated by federal authorities as a homicide after the county previously ruled it a suicide. Her ex-boyfriend Matthew Farwell, a former Stoughton police officer, has now been charged with her murder.
The two candidates not in attendance were Greg Connor and Craig MacLellan.
“It is very hard to overstate the importance of the role of district attorney,” moderator Stephen Van Dyke, an assistant clinical professor at BC Law and former public defender, told the audience. The DA, he said, shapes the lives of more than 700,000 Norfolk County residents by deciding which cases to prosecute, setting bail and sentencing recommendations, and establishing broader priorities for the justice system.
While all candidates were critical of the DA’s office’s current state, Deitch, a former federal prosecutor with a background investigating corruption, was most explicit in placing blame on the present officeholder.
“For the last 16 years, Michael Morrissey and his leadership team have created and maintained a two-tiered system in Norfolk County,” said Deitch, arguing that law enforcement personnel are often treated under a different set of rules than other civilians.
“That’s a theme in the Sandra Birchmore case, where, because a police officer might have been involved, the DA’s office utterly failed to conduct any kind of real investigation,” he said. “And it’s true in the Karen Read case — when members of law enforcement are involved, a blind eye gets turned by the DA’s office.”
Deitch said that if elected, he would establish a dedicated anti-corruption unit and review unresolved cases to ensure victims and families receive answers.
Perkins, a former prosecutor and attorney who specializes in representing survivors of sexual abuse, echoed those sentiments, diffusing blame more widely while still describing a failure to administer justice impartially.
“Recently, our justice system has been brought to its knees by misuse of authority,” she said, adding that “I believe that everyone deserves justice, and that no one is above the law, regardless of who we are, where we’re from, or who we know.”
She connected corruption in Norfolk County to a broader erosion of legal norms across the country, which she said motivated her to enter the race.
“We’re living in times where we all must do our part to stand up for due process and the rule of law,” she said.
Perkins said that if elected, she would audit the DA’s office, implement formal policies on conflicts of interest and police misconduct reporting, and expand community-based programs aimed at preventing crime.
Barakat, the only public defender, widened his critique further, arguing the reforms needed in Norfolk County extend beyond individual cases to systemic inequities in the criminal justice system.
“What happened in those cases happens in every single case I’ve had my hands on,” he said, referring to the Read and Birchmore cases. “But most of my clients are not wealthy, white women who get taken advantage of by the police. A lot of my clients are indigent, and people of color,” who he said often lack the resources to challenge misconduct.
Barakat later clarified, “I’m not anti-police. I’m anti bad police,” while also questioning the methods police rely on to carry out their duties.
“The DA likes to talk a lot about public safety, but does little to combat recidivism…studies show incarceration does nothing to reduce it … and also does nothing to rehabilitate,,” he said.
Barakat said that if elected, he would use data-driven approaches to reduce recidivism, expand diversion programs, and limit incarceration for low-level offenses.
Macy Lee, director of the Board of Hearings at the state Office of Medicaid, offered the least ideological critique of the current DA’s office, casting its flaws as largely organizational rather than ethical.
“I am the only candidate with the proven combination of extensive leadership, management and state prosecutorial experience,” Lee said, adding her approach to restoring trust in the office would center on revamping how employees are trained.
“It’s incumbent on assistant district attorneys to be well trained and able to identify misconduct when they see it, and to be encouraged to report it,” she said. “I have the experience of hiring and disciplining employees and ensuring that the office I run now adheres to the highest professional standards.”
Lee said that if elected, she would overhaul the office’s structure and training systems, including creating dedicated leadership roles and strengthening oversight of prosecutorial decisions.
For a race with stakes so high, tensions at the forum were markedly low, with candidates largely avoiding sharp ideological contrasts.
“I think we’re all fairly not that different on policy, we’re probably all pretty similar,” said Perkins after the forum.
“I think it’s more to me about who has leadership qualities, and who has really built relationships all over the county,” she said.
One observer commented on the lack of ideological diversity among the candidates.
“I thought that it was a very, in some respects, one-sided presentation … I didn’t really hear a law-and-order focus from any of them,” said Michael Cassidy, a professor of criminal law at Boston College.
“I heard a lot about reducing incarceration rates … which I think is really, really important,” Cassidy said. “But we also need to make sure we’re keeping our streets safe and protecting the public against violent criminals. I didn’t hear much from any of them on that subject.”