Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman announced she would finish out her term, but not run for re-election.
As I wrote on Facebook, we all owe Lorrin gratitude for the more than a decade she has served as District Attorney following service as the Clerk of Court.
When I ran against Lorrin in 2022, I had some sharp policy disagreements that I expressed during the campaign. But during this term, the office under Lorrin’s leadership has worked diligently to get through the backlog that was created during COVID with a very large number of homicide cases having been resolved by trial or plea. The office has also not sought the death penalty beyond the Brandon Hill case which had already previously been declared capital.
Sherita Walton, a former Wake County Assistant District Attorney and current lawyer for the Raleigh Police Department, has announced her candidacy. A current assistant district attorney with the District Attorney’s Office is in the formative stages, but has not yet formally announced. Observers think another three or four candidates will run for the Democratic Party primary, which, given that Wake County leans heavily for the Democrats, would effectively make the primary the election itself.
I’m glad that Lorrin has announced her desire not to seek the office again so that we can have a vigorous and open election about who should be the top law enforcement officer for the County.
I’ll post updates here under the tag #wakeDA
