Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby is the person in charge of the investigation of Freddie Gray’s death. Gray suffered a spinal injury while he was in custody of six Baltimore officers, who have been charged in his death.
Though locally well-known, Mosby’s announcement of the charges was the first time she’s been prominent in the national news. She started as an insurance company attorney and got a surprising and deserved win last November, so this is her first stint as an elected official. She beat out incumbent Gregg Bernstein by portraying herself as a crime crusader, determined to keep repeat offenders off the streets.
It was the murder of Mosby’s 17-year-old cousin back in 1994 that helped her see that she wanted a career in criminal justice. “I learned very early on that the criminal justice system isn’t just the police, the judges and the state’s attorney,” CNN quoted her as saying. “It’s much more than that. I believe that we are the justice system. We, the members of the community, are the justice system because we are the victims of crimes.”