‘We’re committed to following the law.’ Columbus DA to prosecute abortions on case-by-case basis
The Columbus-area district attorney told the Ledger-Enquirer Thursday that his office would pursue prosecutions on a case-by-case basis under Georgia’s newly-enacted abortion ban.
Stacey Jackson, the top prosecutor for Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Muscogee, Talbot and Taylor counties, said decisions to prosecute would depend on whether or not law enforcement agencies made arrests and if the cases are referred to his office.
“If I’m presented with a case, whatever the circumstances may be, we’re committed to following the law in that situation,” he said. “I don’t want to commit to hypotheticals because at this time this office hasn’t (had) to make a decision on any type of prosecution... When and if those cases are presented to us, we’d just handle those on a case-by-case basis and make a decision at that point.”
Jackson’s comments come a day after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling and allowed Georgia’s 2019 Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act to take effect. The state law bans most abortions once cardiac activity is detected — about six weeks into pregnancy.
The law includes exceptions for rape and incest so long as the following criteria are both met:
- Pregnancy has not passed its 20-week mark
- A police report has been filed
The law also allows for abortions if a physician determines that a medical emergency exists or that the pregnancy is medically futile.
Georgia’s abortion law also includes personhood language that gives embryos legal status. The AJC reported last month that DAs could potentially seek a murder charge due to the technical language of Georgia’s ban.
However, Republican state Rep. Ed Setzler told the newspaper that isn’t the intent. Instead, those who are pregnant, doctors, nurses and pharmacists could be prosecuted under Georgia’s criminal abortion statute, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Setlzer was the LIFE Act’s lead sponsor.
Anthony Kreis, a professor at Georgia State University’s College of Law, told the Ledger-Enquirer that seeking a murder charge under state law is a legal “gray area.”
“Do I think an aggressive prosecutor could successfully bring a charge and get a conviction? Potentially, yes,” he said. “Now, whether that aggressive prosecutor’s actions would hold up on appellate review, that’s a different question. ... People are certainly going to behave differently given the ambiguity in the law.”
Several District Attorneys representing Georgia’s largest cities and counties previously said they will not prosecute cases under Georgia’s abortion law.
District Attorneys representing the cities of Augusta, Athens and Savannah have pledged they would not prosecute cases under Georgia’s more restrictive ban after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Augusta Chronicle reported.
Top prosecutors in the metro Atlanta area have also said they would not prosecute cases, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. They include Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Cobb County DA Flynn Broady and DeKalb County DA Sherry Boston.
Gwinnett County DA Patsy Austin-Gatson said she would prosecute on a case-by-case basis. Clayton County DA Tasha Mosely hasn’t offered her stance on the matter, the AJC reports.
When asked if prosecuting abortion cases would be a priority, Jackson said every case sent to his office is equally as important.
“It’s not our job to go out and investigate and bring charges,” he said. “We leave that up to the law enforcement agencies. They’ll go out and investigate, bring charges, refer to us, bind it over to superior court, and then we make a decision on how to proceed from there. That’s how I plan to approach it.”
Jackson, a Harris County native, was appointed as Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit DA in April by Gov. Brian Kemp to replace Mark Jones, who resigned after pleading guilty to misconduct in office. Jackson took office in May.
Jackson previously served as an assistant district attorney and one of Columbus’ most prominent defense attorneys. Jackson unsuccessfully ran for a Georgia House of Representative seat as a Republican in 2014, losing to incumbent Democrat Debbie Buckner.
NOTE: An earlier version of this story cited incorrect reporting from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which stated that Clayton County DA Tasha Mosely would not prosecute abortion cases. The current version has been updated to reflect the fact she hasn’t offered a stance on the issue.
This story was originally published July 21, 2022 at 3:01 PM.