The White House on Monday nominated Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins for the position of U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman in the role. The move comes after three years of Rollins making waves in her current position, as she has introduced her now-famous do-not-prosecute list and noticeably taken on the Boston Police Patrolman’s Association multiple times. In for Jim Braude, Sue O’Connell was joined on Greater Boston by Rahsaan Hall, director of the racial justice program at the ACLU of Massachusetts; and Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington.
Harrington said Rollins is a “transformative figure” in criminal justice, and in her now role, would have “a seat at the table at the highest level of government to advocate for an approach to law enforcement.”
“Rachael is part of a movement,” Harrington said. “We’re seeing district attorneys with [similar platforms] elected all over the country… people want law enforcement and government and the court system to work for them, not just for the powerful.”
Hall also praised Rollins’ focus on “transformation” in the criminal justice system and hopes she carries that with her if confirmed. “The same perspective, of valuing the life, the experience, the voices of the people that are most directly marginalized by these systems of oppression — is the experience and perspective that we look forward to now-D.A. Rollins, soon to be U.S. Attorney Rollins, that she brings to the office.”
WATCH: What does Rollins’ U.S. attorney nomination mean for Massachusetts?
