DEDHAM, Mass. — A former federal prosecutor who reviewed the state’s handling of the Karen Read murder case is running for Norfolk County District Attorney.
Adam Deitch — who served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts from 2019 until earlier this month — announced his campaign Tuesday.
“I left my job as a federal prosecutor because it’s clear there’s a problem in Norfolk County. Victims are not getting the justice they deserve, the public has lost faith in the system, and someone has to do something about it. It’s because I have the experience – putting a microscope to entrenched institutions – that makes me uniquely qualified for this job, in this moment," Deitch said after stepping down on November 7.
Deitch, a lifelong Democrat who resides in Quincy, says his focus will be on restoring public trust in the justice system and ensuring victims receive justice.
“I’ve been proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder every day of my career as a prosecutor with outstanding, hard-working police officers, troopers, and federal agents,” Deitch said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “But I’ve also seen firsthand what happens when police and prosecutors take shortcuts, rush to judgment, and then stubbornly won’t consider other possibilities – innocent people are wrongfully accused, crimes go unsolved, and bad cops are protected while good officers lose faith. That’s what we need to change in Norfolk County.”
As a federal prosecutor, Deitch focused on corruption cases throughout Massachusetts, including the prosecution of former state troopers, in addition to serving as the lead assistant U.S. Attorney in the federal investigation of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe’s death and the ensuing state investigation and prosecution of Read.
Deitch is expected to challenge longtime incumbent Michael Morrissey in next year’s Democratic primary.
Morrissey, the lead prosecutor in the Read case, has held the office since 2010.
After the jury in Read’s retrial acquitted her of murder and manslaughter in the death of O’Keefe in June, Morrissey issued a brief statement saying, “The jury has spoken.”
Morrissey has largely stayed out of the public eye since.
Prosecutors argued that Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV, leaving him to die in a blizzard, and charged her with second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a deadly collision. Her lawyers successfully defended her, painting a sinister picture of police misconduct and theorizing that O’Keefe was, in fact, killed by colleagues, followed by a vast cover-up.
On Tuesday, Read filed a sweeping lawsuit that accuses multiple Massachusetts State Police troopers and several Canton residents of conspiring to frame her for a crime she says she did not commit. Her attorneys, in the suit, claim “gross misconduct” shielded O’Keefe’s real killer.
Read was convicted of drunken driving, however, for which she will face a year’s probation.
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