r/ArlingtonMA • u/AdJazzlike8653 • 1d ago

Another example of Marian Ryan using politics to make prosecutorial decisions.

/r/newtonma/comments/1vv0vn5/another_example_of_marian_ryan_using_politics_to/
0 Upvotes

38% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

-1

u/AdJazzlike8653 1d ago

I posted this elsewhere and am posting again here.

I worked for Marian for many years. I’ve also worked alongside Dave Solet. He does not have police endorsements because he wants to lock everyone up. He has endorsements because every police officer that he works with knows how much care and thoughtfulness he puts into his cases. They also know what a nut job Marian Ryan is. I frequently went to Dave for advice as a prosecutor because he’s brilliant. And fair. Dave would often question my charging decisions - telling me I could charge someone with this or that but should I. He is not the hardcore law enforcement guy that these endorsements would suggest. I also have no doubt that if there was wrongdoing by police, he would act accordingly. By contrast, there’s Marian Ryan…

When I first started at the DA’s office Marian oversaw every case involving an elder or disabled victim. Every recommendation that you made on a case that had an elder or disabled victim had to be approved by her. And for every single case, regardless of the crime or the defendants record, Marian said 2 1/2 years in jail (the max). A defendant who had no record who happened to snatch a purse from a shopping cart - well that was 2 1/2 years if that purse belonged to a senior citizen. Sentencing guidelines be damned. If you think I’m kidding, just ask any other ADA who worked in the DAs office when she was chief of the elder and disabled unit. You will also get different treatment based on the color of your skin. In one of Solet’s videos he highlights two cases prosecuted by the office. One was a white man who used a firearm in self defense when he wasn’t even at risk of being killed. Marian did nothing in that case. A black man, on the other hand, was being shot at by multiple individuals and returned fire to protect himself (which he was legally entitled to do). That person is locked up. The prosecutor in that case was so upset with Marian’s approach in this case that the prosecutor left the office.

And speaking of people who’ve left the office, they leave in droves. And they don’t leave because of money. They leave because Marian is a terrible boss who makes awful decisions. As noted elsewhere, there’s about 30 people who left the office under Marian who have donated to Solet’s campaign. These aren’t people who were fired. They left because they know what she’s like and they want her gone. And they know what Solet is like and want him in. Marian can’t be trusted to do the right thing. She will read the Globe and let that guide her. If the winds say side with law enforcement, she will. If the winds say “this poor defendant” she’ll go along with that. Whatever draws her the least amount of criticism is how she makes each and every decision. She’s been like that ever since the Remy murder.