What you need to know about the Baltimore prosecutor leading the Freddie Gray investigation.
Today, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced charges against six police officers implicated in the death of a 25-year-old black Baltimore resident named Freddie Gray. Mosby’s handling of the high-profile case — and the powerful statements she made at the press conference to announce it — has set the stage for her to become a political powerhouse, with some on Twitter already predicting she’ll one day be president (we won’t go that far). Here are seven things to know about Marilyn Mosby.
1. Mosby was raised by a single mother in inner city Boston, and many of her family members were cops. Mosby’s mother, father, grandfather, and uncles were all police officers, so she’s intimately familiar with the workings of the police force.
2. Mosby is a graduate of Boston College Law School, and previously worked at an insurance company. Before being elected Baltimore City state’s attorney, she was Maryland’s assistant state’s attorney, working on prosecuting general trial felonies.
3. At the time of her election in January 2015, Mosby was the youngest D.A. in America. The 35-year-old Democrat is now the “youngest chief prosecutor in a major U.S. city.”
4. While running for election, Mosby spoke out about losing her 17-year-old cousin to gun violence. “I learned very early on that the criminal justice system isn’t just the police, the judges, and the state’s attorney,” she said. “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.”
5. Mosby’s husband, Nick, is a Baltimore City Councilmember representing West Baltimore. He’s spoken out about the death of Freddie Gray, and even got into a heated discussion with a Fox News reporter over the looting that took place during some of the protests. The couple has two daughters.
6. Gray’s family is onboard with Mosby’s independent investigation. “We’re enthusiastic about the new prosecutor,” Gray’s lead attorney told NBC. “She comes to the office with a belief in the integrity of these kinds of investigations. We have much more confidence in her than we have in the police because there’s never been any level of confidence, nor should there be, in the police investigating themselves.”
7. She is a certified badass. “To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace,’” Mosby said during Friday’s press conference announcing the charges. “To the youth of this city: I will seek justice on your behalf.”
