JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A small group of activists who say State Attorney Angela Corey prosecutes too many black teens held a demonstration Saturday. Corey is running for a third term as state attorney.
The activists gathered at the Duval Regional Juvenile Detention Center, tying together an anti-Corey protest and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
"Our children are receiving felony charges that will stay with them the rest of their lives," said Wells Todd, who is with the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition.
The group handed out fliers that claim Corey has tried 70 percent of black males as adults, compared to a 52 percent rate in the state between 2006-2011.
According to Corey’s bio, during her 25-year tenure in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Corey tried hundreds of cases including more than 50 homicides.
In 2007, Corey joined the Seventh Judicial Circuit for a two-year stint as an assistant state attorney in the homicide investigative unit.
In Nov. 2008, she was elected to serve as the state attorney of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida.
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"It's time to take a stand, address the inequalities in (the) criminal justice system and keep on rallying until she is gone," Todd said.
The state attoney's office released a statement about the group that reads in part, "This special interest group's focus is on defendants; our focus is on our victims. To suggest race is a factor in prosecuting cases is ridiculous."
"I'm not an advocate for Angela Corey, she hasn't asked me to speak on her behalf," said Paul Davis, an onlooker at the protest.
Davis questioned the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
"Is that to the exclusion of white lives, brown lives, green lives, blue lives and any other lives out there?" Davis said.
Corey officially kicked off her re-election campaign in June. The only other candidate so far is former Assistant State Attorney Wesley White.
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