A forum for Monroe County District Attorney candidates was held on Saturday at the Eastern Monroe Public Library in Stroudsburg. It was hosted by the Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania and Monroe County NAACP.

Democratic candidates Micheal Mancuso, currently first assistant district attorney, and Donald Leeth, assistant district attorney from 1999-2013, were questioned by moderator Christa Caceres, president of the NAACP.

Each candidate got an opportunity to introduce themselves. Mancuso said that he had prosecuted more murderers than any other district attorney in Monroe County, and began the Overdose Initiative and Elder Abuse Task Force.

Leeth said, “We have the opportunity for meaningful change in Monroe County. Our criminal justice system is broken. We need to give resources to the police force. We can and must do better than this.”

The questioning began by asking both candidates why they had switched from the Republican Party. Leeth said that he was from a very conservative background and started seeing issues that affected him. Following Jan. 6 he couldn’t be a part of “the party that allows this.” Mancuso said that he is proactive and formed domestic violence protocols, overdose fatality review, free Narcan and other initiatives.

The next set of questions were about the juvenile justice system and diversion and mentoring to first time offenders.

Leeth said that there are diversionary programs but the DAs just want to “pass the buck.” He believes in giving juveniles a second chance. Mancuso said there is “a crisis in the sheer number of cases they are getting” and advocates for Juvenile Probation officers in the schools. He would like to have a civilian advisory and review board and “It is important to gain trust of the community ... through transparency and open lines of communication.”

On the topic of diversity in the District Attorney’s office Leeth said it is a challenge in Monroe County and they need to recruit from different law schools as well as going to Howard University and explain the value of the dollar in Monroe County. Mancuso would like to send invites to law schools, including those in Philadelphia, and outreach to the community to apply.

When asked the role of the District Attorney’s office, Mancuso said the core functions are “all oversight of the criminal justice system on the prosecutors end, investigative function and guidance to law-enforcement.” Leeth said, “The most valuable part of the DA is to seek justice and justice is protecting the community while building trust.”

Things got a bit heated when Leeth suggested that Mancuso has relationships with other attorneys, including his wife who is a magistrate judge, and there is distrust in the community. Mancuso simply responded “that’s disgusting.” Caceres moved things along smoothly.

When questioned about the disparities of black/white crime, Mancuso presented several charts from Measures for Justice including data that 7% more blacks are incarcerated and that is worthy of inquiry. Leeth got a round of applause when saying, “It’s worthy of inquiring the disproportionate amount of blacks that go to state prisons, get higher bails and it’s time to stop racial profiling.”

A bit of an unanticipated questioning when it was noted that the parents of 19-year-old Christian Hall were in attendance. Hall was killed by Pennsylvania State Police in December 2020 following what appeared to be a mental health issue.

Both candidates were asked if they would’ve done anything differently. Mancuso noted how very difficult it was as it was captured on video and was undoubtedly a mental health crisis. He noted that taser and/or pepper spray was not used due to the cold, wind and distance and unfortunately the officers did not have anything else nonlethal. He would have liked to see de-escalation attempts by mental health professionals on the scene. The discussion got quite heated and Caceres brought the crowd back by stating “have respect for this moment.”

Dr. Nancy Williams, of the NAACP, asked a series of questions from the public. Questions were asked about data gathering, transparency and new initiatives. Mancuso said that they were getting body cams for police which will help with transparency. He also said that he got a gun violence reduction grant and has a law enforcement treatment initiative to empower diversion of low level cases. Leeth quickly responded that that program had been in place since 2018.

Matt Reeder, who is a candidate for Ross Township supervisor, said that “the DA race is the most important. We have one guy who wants to make changes and one guy who’s been there for two decades and hasn’t made changes.”