The Republican candidate for Dallas County district attorney, Faith Johnson, has vowed to end John Creuzot’s policy on misdemeanor theft if she is elected in November.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Creuzot displeased law-enforcement agencies and conservative politicians alike when his office announced it would no longer prosecute misdemeanor theft of personal items worth less than $750 in the absence of evidence that the offense was committed for financial gains.
Creuzot claimed the policy aims to prevent people struggling with poverty from getting a criminal record.
“This policy was created to help address poverty-related problems, and combat the misuse of resources and taxpayer money,” he said.
“I’ve been in criminal justice for 37 years, and I’ve seen people steal because they’re hungry, and I’ve seen the system react where the cases are dismissed or react in a more harsh manner where incarceration is requested,” Creuzot said in a 2019 statement after introducing the new policy. “But the reality of it is putting a person in jail is not going to make their situation any better.”
However, in a news conference introducing the GOP’s local slate of politicians, Faith Johnson said that her administration would eliminate Creuzot’s policy and prosecute Class B misdemeanor thefts of personal items.
“As your chief law-enforcement officer of this county, I want you to be able to count on me,” said Johnson. “I want the shop owners to be able to count on me. I want the large grocery chains to be able to count on me.”
Johnson, a former Dallas County DA, maintained that she would abide by the law and was adamant that she would “absolutely” get rid of the policy if elected.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Faith Johnson to the role of Dallas County District Attorney in 2016. However, she lost the position to John Creuzot in the 2018 election, winning sixty percent of the total votes.
Prosecutors under Johnson secured a murder conviction for Roy Oliver, a former Balch Springs police officer accused of killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards while on duty. Oliver got fifteen years in prison for his murder conviction.
Johnson’s prosecutors also successfully secured a murder indictment against former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger. Guyger fatally shot Botham Jean in his apartment and had been arrested on a charge of manslaughter before Johnson’s prosecutors secured the murder indictment.
While Johnson left office before the case went to trial, Creuzot, her successor, agreed that Guyger should be tried for murder. Creuzot’s prosecutors succeeded in proving Guyger guilty, and she was sentenced to ten years in prison for the murder of Botham Jean.
