An officer-involved shooting in Decatur has stirred intense debate across Alabama. Unfortunately, the current Attorney General’s Office has again opted to stand against law enforcement.
On September 29, 2023, Decatur Police Officer Mac Marquette shot and killed Stephen Perkins during a late-night call involving a vehicle repossession. Now, the Attorney General’s Office is criminally prosecuting Officer Marquette for murder based on his involvement in the incident.
Mr. Perkins’ death is a tragedy, but tragedy alone does not justify criminal prosecution. So why is the State prosecuting Officer Marquette for murder?
Normally, police officers in Alabama are immune from criminal prosecution because the Legislature has wisely decided that on-duty officers deserve legal immunity for reasonable actions they take in the line of fire.
Accountability in law enforcement matters. I support fair, transparent investigations and rightful civil remedies. And I support giving law enforcement the training resources they need to protect our communities. But there is a vast difference between accountability and sending innocent men to prison.
The Attorney General’s prosecution of Officer Marquette is legally indefensible and fundamentally wrong.
The Alabama Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in Officer Marquette’s case. The State did its best to defend the prosecution, asserting that Officer Marquette’s actions were illegal because, the State said, it was illegal for the Decatur Police Department to assist with a repossession.
But notably: Alabama law does not prohibit police from providing security for repossessions. And more importantly, Officer Marquette was dispatched to the scene by
his superiors at the Decatur Police Department. He and other uniformed officers responded to the call, in accordance with department policy.
Everything that happened after they arrived was by-the-book police work. This shooting was a clear instance of self-defense by a law enforcement officer.
But this isn’t the first time our Attorney General’s Office has wrongfully prosecuted one of our police officers for an act of self-defense.
In 2016, there was an officer-involved shooting in Montgomery. In pursuit of a burglary suspect who was violently resisting arrest, Officer Aaron Cody Smith followed his training. He exhausted all methods of non-lethal force in an attempt to subdue the suspect before firing his weapon in self-defense. Yet the Attorney General’s office prosecuted him for murder, convicting him on a lesser charge of manslaughter. He spent years in prison.
When his appeal reached the Alabama Supreme Court, I wrote that the prosecution and conviction of Officer Smith was one of the “most astonishing failures” of justice our Court had seen.
Only after my opinion did the Attorney General’s Office cut a plea deal that released Officer Smith from prison. Although his voting rights were recently reinstated, today he remains a convicted felon who can’t legally own a gun. He and his young family suffer harassment and death threats regularly.
One wrongful prosecution is a mistake, but two are a pattern. It was wrong to prosecute Officer Smith then, and it’s wrong to prosecute Officer Marquette now.
You would expect this kind of anti-cop vendetta from leaders in woke, soft-on-crime states like California. But it’s shocking to see the Alabama Attorney General’s Office defend coordinated, politically-motivated prosecution of law enforcement officers.
The Attorney General’s Office should not wait for another scathing correction from the Supreme Court. They should follow the law and drop the charges against Officer Marquette.
The eyes of the law enforcement community are on the Marquette case.
If Officer Marquette is denied immunity, the shock waves will extend far beyond Decatur. If Officer Marquette is then convicted of murder, policing in Alabama will change—and not for the better.
If the State’s reckless legal theory succeeds, it will undermine the foundation every officer relies on to act decisively and without hesitation in the line of duty. If that foundation cracks, we will all pay the price.
Alabama deserves a top cop who will stand with officers. Not prosecute them for doing their jobs. If I am elected Attorney General, I will protect those who protect us.
Mark my words: Alabama will not prosecute officers for doing their lawful duty on my watch.
Jay Mitchell is a nationally recognized litigator and former Alabama Supreme Court Justice. He is currently running to be the next Alabama Attorney General.
