Marilyn Mosby, Prosecutor In Freddie Gray Case, Has Significant Boston Ties
BOSTON (CBS/AP) – The prosecutor who announced Friday that six Baltimore police officers would be charged in the death of Freddie Gray has connections to Boston.
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Marilyn Mosby is Baltimore City's newly elected State's Attorney. She is the youngest chief prosecutor of any major city in America.
On Friday she announced that there was probable cause to arrest six officers who caused the police-custody death of Gray.
Mosby added that Gray was arrested illegally as police had no probable cause to take him into custody.
CBS Baltimore: Officers Charged In Freddie Gray's Death, State's Attorney Said Arrest Was Illegal
One officer faces a second-degree murder charge while the other officers face manslaughter or assault charges, among others.
Mosby says the officers failed to get Gray medical help even though he requested it repeatedly after he was arrested April 12.
At some point while he was in custody, he suffered a mysterious spinal injury and died a week later.
MOSBY'S BOSTON ROOTS
Though Mosby is currently serving a critical role in Baltimore as part of a case that has gained national attention, her legal career began in New England.
Mosby grew up in Boston and attended Dover-Sherborn High School. After graduation, she attended Boston College Law School.
While living in Massachusetts, Mosby served as clerk in the Homicide Unit of the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.
"I think it's very unique that a chief prosecutor who — as young as she is, who lives in a community that has a high amount of violence — that's very unique and she's probably the only one in the entire country," said her husband Nick Mosby, who is a Baltimore City Councilor. "She's from the inner city, she lives in the inner city, she knows the inner city."
Marilyn Mosby's family also has a lengthy history in law enforcement. She comes from five generations in the field, and according to TIME, her grandfather was one of the first African-American police officers in Massachusetts.
TIME also reported that Mosby was raised in Boston by her mother, and that in 1994 her 17-yearpold cousin was killed near her home. The report added that the killing took place when Mosby's cousin was mistaken for a drug dealer.
"YOUNG, DRIVEN INDIVIDUAL"
Boston Police Superintendent William Gross said he knows Mosby's family and grew up with them in Boston.
"I'm very proud of her," Gross told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
Gross added that he has no doubt Mosby will conduct a thorough investigation into what caused Gray's to lose his life following his arrest.
"She was always a very young, driven individual. Very intelligent," Gross added about Mosby.
"I WORK TO DELIVER JUSTICE"
When Mosby made the announcement at Friday's news conference that the six Baltimore police officers would be charged for Gray's death, the crowd cheered.
The Baltimore police officers union says the six officers charged in the Freddie Gray case aren't responsible for his death.
"To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for 'No Justice, No Peace,'" Mosby said at the press conference. "Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope reports
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