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Ex-prosecutor looking to be appeals court judge: "Politics" drove his conviction of man

Ken Shigley is running for a judge position on the state court of appeals.
Ken Shipley is running for appeals court judge

ATLANTA — A former Douglas County prosecutor says he convicted a man who shouldn't have been prosecuted 40 years ago.

"Sometimes you get a case you really shouldn’t have prosecuted," Ken Shigley told an audience during a recent campaign appearance. Shigley is running for a judge position on the state court of appeals.

He had been asked to relate a story of injustice that he'd seen. He volunteered a confession.

"And it just began to smell bad in the middle of the trial. I did everything I could to lose it, but I couldn’t," Shigley said.

He describes the defendant as a young man, African-American, a college student who got snared in a drug case around 1978. Shigley says he can’t remember the defendant’s name.

“The jury convicted the guy. He appealed. I tried to lose the appeal. I couldn’t. I tried to make the weakest case for the state I could, recognizing what had happened," Shigley said.

Shigley is in a contested race for the appeals judgeship. His opponent is Ken Hodges, a former district attorney.

Cobb County district attorney Vic Reynolds, who is supporting Hodges, says no prosecutor in his office would try a case they felt should be dismissed.

"If I had a prosecutor and he or she believed a case ought to be dismissed, and they didn’t move to dismiss it, then I would fire them," Reynolds told 11Alive News.

Shigley told 11Alive News he doesn't think the defendant served a jail sentence, but doesn't remember the specifics of his sentence.

“I hope he went on and had a good life," he told the Advocacy for Action audience. His entire appearance is here.

Shigley says he didn’t dismiss the case because he was afraid he’d lose his job.

"Hopefully, 40 years later, I have enough maturity to make a better choice than I did that day," he said.

Shigley told 11Alive he intended to tell a personal and cautionary story about real injustice. The question is whether voters Tuesday will make him pay for his honesty.

Saturday, Shigley issued a statement:

"Let me clarify my comments on the case from 40 years ago. I was assigned to the case at the last minute, after jury selection had taken place. Over time, I began to develop concern that politics had been injected into the prosecution. I had no evidence that he was wrongfully charged and prosecuted. I told the story to illustrate that as a young prosecutor, I saw how the legal process can treat some people differently and unfairly, and as an older, wiser and more mature practitioner today I will fight for equal treatment under the law for all who come before the Georgia Court of Appeals."

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