On March 21, 2020, the Democratic Club of Quail Creek (DCQC) will host Jonathan Mosher, candidate for Pima County Attorney. When Jonathan visited us last, his title was Chief Criminal Deputy of the Pima County Attorney’s Office. Today, he has a more complex title – Candidate for Pima County Attorney/on leave from Chief Criminal Deputy position to run for office.
The focus of Jonathan Mosher’s March 21 presentation to the DCQC is “The Death Penalty: Why Are We Inflicting Cruelty on Victims’ Families?” In this presentation, Jonathan discusses several high-profile first degree murder prosecutions he has handled (State v. Luis Vargas, State v. David Watson, and State v. Josh Lelevier). These cases each resulted in natural life prison terms, and some measure of justice for victim families in a realistic time frame. Jonathan contrasts this with death penalty cases discussed in the book Arbitrary Death, recently written and published by his colleague, Rick Unklesbay. The death penalty cases described by Mr. Unklesbay in Arbitrary Death have inflicted decades of suffering on victim families through endless, torturous appeals. For these and other reasons, Jonathan argues for an end to death penalty prosecutions.”
Under Jonathan’s former job title, he was responsible for leading the prosecution and diversion efforts of the Criminal Division’s approximately 70 attorneys and 200 support staff, while also conducting trainings throughout Arizona and nationwide. As the leader of the office’s Criminal Division, Jonathan was particularly dedicated to data-driven and evidence-based approaches (such as specialty courts and felony drug diversion), to reduce jail and prison populations while maintaining public safety. Jonathan was also committed to efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system.
On Jonathan’s website, his mission statement says, “I am a 21st century prosecutor. This means I refuse to believe we cannot protect our community while at the same time implementing smart criminal justice reform.”
The Democratic Club of Quail Creek invites the community to join us for what promises to be an interesting and informative presentation Saturday, March 21, at 3 p.m,. in the Silver Room, Madera Clubhouse.