Soros-backed prosecutor under fire over death penalty decision for Laken Riley's killer

When a Georgia justice convicted Jose Ibarra, Laken Riley's killer, connected 10 counts and sentenced him to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole, politicians and pundits crossed the state expressed vexation that helium was not sentenced to death.

Over a astir four-day trial, authoritative Sheila Ross brought 29 witnesses to the basal to beryllium that Ibarra brutally attacked and killed Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing pupil who was jogging connected the University of Georgia campus by bashing her caput with ample rocks and perchance strangling her.

But Georgia Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez decided not to prosecute the decease punishment against Ibarra successful May, astir 3 months aft Riley's murder, saying successful a May 31 property merchandise that the determination to question beingness without the anticipation of parole alternatively of decease was "reached aft cautious deliberation with the elder authoritative and the enactment of the victim's family."

"Our utmost work is to guarantee that justness is served and that the victim's household is an integral portion of the deliberation process," Gonzalez said successful a connection astatine the time. "We recognize that determination volition beryllium those extracurricular this bureau who volition disagree with our determination and question to exploit this lawsuit for governmental gain. However, the integrity of our judicial process and the pursuit of justness indispensable ever transcend governmental considerations."

LAKEN RILEY MURDER: JUDGE SENTENCES COLLEGE STUDENT KILLER AFTER FAMILY ADDRESSES ‘MONSTER’ IN COURT

Soros-backed Georgia DA Deborah Gonzalez mislaid a re-election bid successful 2024. (X)

Fox News contributor and erstwhile transgression and civilian proceedings lawyer Ted Williams, who besides worked arsenic a homicide detective successful Washington, D.C., called Gonzalez's determination "absolutely outrageous."

"This idiosyncratic should pain her barroom card," Williams said. "Each case, and this case, should person been ruled, and a determination connected the decease punishment should person been made connected the merits. This is friggin' outrageous."

He added that "capital punishment is near to the discretion of the section authoritative nether Georgia law."

Jose Ibarra appears astatine his proceedings astatine the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, successful Athens, Ga. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)

"A authoritative should marque a determination connected whether to question the death punishment connected however egregious and convulsive the execution was," Williams explained. "Political leanings should ne'er origin into that decision. Sadly, authoritative Deborah Gonzalez failed Laken Hope Riley successful decease by not seeking the decease punishment against Jose Ibarra. If determination was ever a lawsuit that called for the decease penalty, it was this case."

"Ibarra violently murdered Laken Riley. He stalked Laken and took a stone and bashed her skull in."

Republican Georgia State Rep. Houston Gaines told Fox News Digital that had the decease punishment been connected the table, Ibarra whitethorn person chosen a plea woody alternatively of beingness without parole, and a proceedings exposing the graphic details of Riley's execution would not person been necessary.

Deborah Gonzalez, the DA for Georgia's Western Judicial Circuit, takes portion successful the inaugural Athens Pride Parade successful downtown Athens, Ga., June 12, 2022. (Joshua L. Jones/USA Today Network)

"[I]f determination was ever a lawsuit to prosecute the decease penalty, this is 1 to consider," Gaines said. "At slightest permission it connected the array … marque the suspect plea to beingness without parole."

LAKEN RILEY MURDER: FAMILY OF SLAIN UGA STUDENT SOBS IN COURT AS WITNESSES DESCRIBE CRIME SCENE EVIDENCE

In 2020, erstwhile the George Soros-backed authoritative — a erstwhile authorities typical — took bureau arsenic DA, she expressed absorption to the decease penalty.

"I bash not enactment the decease penalty. It is cruel & successful humane."

"I bash not enactment the decease penalty. It is cruel & successful humane," Gonzalez said successful a Sept. 23, 2020, station connected X. "As DA of #athensga I volition not question it successful immoderate prosecution. The oculus for an oculus statement does not marque our assemblage whole. Restorative justness does that."

Laken Riley's past moments were caught connected a UGA way camera Feb. 22. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)

On her archetypal time successful office, Gonzalez's bureau outlined immoderate of her caller initiatives, which included not seeking the decease penalty, successful a memo her bureau sent to the Georgia authorities legislature astatine the time. Gaines shared parts of the memo connected X successful February aft Riley's murder, urging the DA to prosecute the decease penalty.

In that memo, Gonzalez said she would "take into relationship collateral consequences to undocumented defendants," or, successful different words, the antagonistic impacts of transgression convictions for amerciable immigrants.

"District Attorney Gonzalez is incorrect for factoring into her determination not to question the decease punishment ‘collateral consequences to undocumented defendants,'" Williams said. "It is outrageous to judge that immoderate DA sworn to uphold the instrumentality looking astatine the facts of this lawsuit would instrumentality into information however undocumented defendants are to beryllium treated successful the transgression justness system. A determination to question the decease punishment should beryllium based solely connected the idiosyncratic merits of a lawsuit and not whether a idiosyncratic is undocumented."

Gonazlez, who mislaid re-election successful 2024, decided not to prosecute the Ibarra lawsuit and handed it to peculiar authoritative Ross, who scored a hasty condemnation aft the astir four-day trial.

Gonzalez received disapproval from Gov. Brian Kemp and different section politicians for her nonaccomplishment to get a azygous condemnation successful a assemblage proceedings for a transgression lawsuit implicit the people of her term, WSBT-TV archetypal reported successful February.

LAKEN RILEY'S ALLEGED KILLER JOSE IBARRA FLEW FROM ‘GROUND ZERO’ OF MIGRANT CRISIS TO GEORGIA

Houston Gaines has criticized Deborah Gonzalez's determination not to prosecute the decease punishment successful Jose Ibarra's transgression lawsuit successful the execution of Augusta University pupil Laken Riley. (Gaines/ © Joshua L. Jones/USA Today Network)

"She made the determination earlier the lawsuit adjacent happened," Gaines said of Gonzalez's anti-death punishment stance. "When you travel into bureau and you marque broad argumentation statements, that's the issue. … Again, you person individuals who travel into our assemblage similar Jose Ibarra due to the fact that … we're a assemblage that has welcomed individuals who are successful this state illegally and who perpetrate superior crimes. And they cognize that convulsive criminals are much apt to get disconnected casual successful Athens than successful different places."

Gaines besides noted that Gonzalez "only has a mates of lawyers near successful the bureau due to the fact that they've had 35 resignations for 17 positions implicit the past mates of years."

"They've had an implicit 200% turnover," the authorities typical said. "So, she truly has nary lawyers near successful her office, and they weren't capable to grip this case."

Gonzalez's bureau did not respond to a petition for comment.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross presents her closing arguments earlier Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard during the proceedings of Jose Ibarra astatine Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, successful Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)

Ibarra illegally crossed into the United States done El Paso, Texas, successful September 2022 and was released into the U.S. via parole, ICE and DHS sources antecedently told Fox News. He concisely lived successful New York City, wherever helium was arrested successful 2023 for endangering a child. He and his 29-year-old brother, Diego Ibarra, were besides antecedently cited for shoplifting successful Athens. 

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Jose, Diego and their younger brother, Agenis, lived successful an flat gathering little than a fractional mile from the on-campus parkland wherever Riley was moving the greeting of Feb. 22. Their flat analyzable backed up to a shortcut that leads to moving trails on UGA's field wherever Riley was recovered dormant successful a wooded area, partially bare and covered successful leaves, that afternoon. She died of blunt unit trauma and asphyxiation, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation aesculapian examiner.

Diego, who worked concisely astatine a UGA cafeteria earlier his apprehension successful February, had ties to a known Venezuelan pack successful the U.S., Tren de Aragua, according to national tribunal documents.