‘A new era in criminal justice.’ Herald-Leader endorses Angela Evans for County Attorney

County Attorney Larry Roberts has served our community well for the 15 years he’s been in office, collecting childcare payments and delinquent taxes, along with big cases such as the successful property tax fight with Walgreens that affected the entire state.

But in the past year, it’s become clear that it’s time for a change in this important role. Lexington is fortunate that an excellent candidate is ready to step into the role, and that’s why the Herald Leader is endorsing attorney Angela Evans in the Democratic primary for County Attorney.

Roberts seems unwilling and unable to process a new era of race relations in a job in which they are crucial. He appears to be holding a grudge against two Lexington sisters, Sarah Williams and April Taylor, who organized and led Lexington’s largely peaceful Black Lives Matter protests for weeks in the summer of 2020. Thanks to their leadership, Lexington saw hardly any of the violence or property destruction of other cities; thanks to their thoughtful articulation of the issues, Lexington has started to adopt many of the ideas they championed. Near the end of the protests, the sisters were arrested and charged with inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, despite the fact there was were no riots.

In numerous other cities, prosecutors dropped charges against BLM protesters, but Roberts refused to extend the same grace in the sisters’ cases. Taylor accepted a plea deal and got probation; Williams is planning on a July trial facing charges of inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and disregarding traffic regulations, according to court records. A saga over jaywalking is now almost two years old, which is not a good use of taxpayer time or money.

In his interview with the editorial board, Roberts, 78, seemed angry that the sisters had set up a bail fund for anyone arrested during the protests. That is not the same as inciting a riot. He has also discussed details of Williams’ case in public forums, a breach of information he usually disdains. He appeared to dig his heels in further after editorials and a Black minister group appealed to him to drop the charges.

When pressed about his views on racial justice, he talked about Black employees he has hired in his office. Roberts is very proud of his office’s history of diversion, a practice he admirably practices to help defendants avoid jail time, but seemed unable to describe exactly what it entails.

That’s one reason Angela Evans believes his office needs a complete audit with results shared publicly so the community can understand exactly what the County Attorney’s office does and how it spends a nearly $4 million annual budget.

“It’s a new era in criminal justice with the reforms that have been going on,” Evans told the editorial board. “We need transparency in finding out, what are the most common charges that people are entering guilty pleas to? We have diversion programs, so what are the charges that people are entering that qualify for those? We don’t know who is afforded those opportunities to have their records remain clean, and how the money is used.”

Evans, 46, has a rich and diverse legal background starting with her work as a law clerk for Judge Lewis Paisley. She was a public defender, then moved to Frankfort where she worked as legal counsel for the Secretary of State and as an assistant Attorney General who represented the state’s licensing boards. She returned to private practice and was elected to Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council. She left Lexington for a year at Princeton University earning a masters degree in public policy. She has a deep understanding of budgets and bureaucracies at state and local levels.

Kentucky was initially a pioneer on criminal justice reform, but it appears to be going backward on bail and bond, Evans pointed out. “I want to be a voice to push forward the idea that there are new ways to do things,” she said. “There’s still an unfairness in the system that keeps people feeling that justice isn’t really served.”

She’s right. The job of County Attorney is too important to remain mired in traditions and crusty mindsets when it can be a bellwether in criminal justice policy. As Lexington takes its first steps forward into a new era, we believe that Angela Evans will be an excellent person to help it along as County Attorney.

This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 6:00 AM.