Fairfax County’s top prosecutor is the target of a recall petition filed by Cheryl Minter, whose adult daughter Stephanie was allegedly stabbed to death by an illegal immigrant with a violent criminal history.
Ms. Minter’s recall effort has secured 11,625 signatures in the effort to remove Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, who is backed by left-wing billionaire George Soros and has been criticized for being too lenient with serial offenders.
Those criticisms were brought to the fore this year when police arrested Abdul Jalloh in connection to Stephanie Minter’s slaying. Police said Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone, had more than 30 arrests for charges including rape, stabbing and theft yet never spent much time behind bars.
Internal emails revealed police had warned prosecutors that Jalloh’s release from jail last fall would result in him harming someone.
Stephanie Minter was stabbed and killed by a Fairfax County bus shelter on Feb. 23.
“This was not an unavoidable tragedy. It was the predictable consequence of decisions made by Descano,” Cheryl Minter says in her Change.org petition page, which is supported by the Victims Rights Reform Council. “Stephanie’s case is not an isolated failure. Under Descano’s leadership, Fairfax County has repeatedly seen dangerous offenders released, despite serious charges and lengthy criminal histories, while public safety took a back seat.”
Before launching the recall petition, Ms. Minter submitted a federal civil rights complaint asking the Department of Justice to investigate Mr. Descano over what the filing calls “preferential treatment for illegal immigrants over native-born citizens.”
The Justice Department launched an investigation in May over Mr. Descano’s accused misconduct. The complaint stemmed from a now-removed page from Mr. Descano’s campaign website in which he said he would consider less severe criminal prosecutions because a defendant could face deportation.
“If two people commit the same crime, but only one’s punishment includes deportation, that’s a perversion of justice and not a reflection of the values of Fairfax County,” Mr. Descano’s former webpage said.
Mr. Descano’s office said the page was taken down because it was wrongly treated as official policy.
As for the petition, the signature campaign needs 10% of Mr. Descano’s vote total in 2023 to be reviewed by a circuit court judge. That puts the petition target at more than 29,000 signatures. If a judge rules in favor of the recall, Mr. Descano would be removed from office.
Virginia allows elected officials to be recalled for “misuse of office, neglect of duty and incompetence in performance.”
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