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Federal prosecutor who probed Karen Read case jumps into Norfolk DA race
Adam Deitch touted his experience “putting a microscope to entrenched institutions” and pledged accountability and integrity.
As a federal prosecutor, Adam Deitch investigated Norfolk County authorities over their controversial handling of the Karen Read case. Now, he’s running to replace the longtime district attorney who put Read on trial for murder.
Deitch, 42, touted his experience “putting a microscope to entrenched institutions” and pledged to build accountability and integrity in an office beset by public outcry over a string of recent controversies.
The former assistant U.S. Attorney once focused on corruption cases across Massachusetts, prosecuting former State Police troopers involved in the commercial driver’s license scandal and local activist Monica Cannon-Grant for defrauding donors to her nonprofit. Deitch stepped down from his post Nov. 7 to run for Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s seat.
More on Karen Read:
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Several police officials in Karen Read’s case faced scrutiny or discipline. Where are they now?
“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.
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However, he continued, “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.”
Deitch joins three other Democrats who have already announced their campaigns for Norfolk DA. Morrissey, who was elected to the post in 2010, hasn’t indicated whether he plans to run for reelection. However, the sitting DA has largely remained out of the public eye since Read’s acquittal.
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Read, 45, was accused of drunkenly backing her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, while dropping him off at an afterparty in Canton in January 2022. She’s long contended she was framed in a law enforcement coverup, and jurors found her not guilty of murder and manslaughter charges in June.
Though Deitch’s federal probe into the case yielded no charges or arrests, the investigation had an indelible impact on Read’s two murder trials. The probe not only revealed ex-Trooper Michael Proctor’s unsavory texts about Read, but also yielded two crash reconstruction experts who testified for the defense and said O’Keefe’s injuries were inconsistent with having been struck by Read’s SUV.
On Tuesday, Read filed a lawsuit against several witnesses and State Police investigators she alleged “concocted a plan” and conspired to frame her.
Read’s criminal case was a flashpoint in Norfolk County, as was the death of Sandra Birchmore, a 23-year-old pregnant woman allegedly killed by a former Stoughton police detective who groomed her in her teenage years. Morrissey’s office and the state medical examiner initially declared Birchmore’s death a suicide, and no criminal charges were filed until federal prosecutors stepped in last year.
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Speaking to The Boston Globe, Deitch cited the Read and Birchmore cases as he explained his decision to leave his “dream job,” sell his condominium in East Boston, and move to Quincy to run for office.
“I left my job as a federal prosecutor because it’s clear there’s a problem in Norfolk County,” Deitch said in a statement. “Victims are not getting the justice they deserve, the public has lost faith in the system, and someone has to do something about it.”
Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Deitch worked at Proskauer Rose LLP and volunteered with the Innocence Project, according to his campaign.
In the race to replace Morrissey, he’s up against former Suffolk County prosecutors Djuna Perkins and Craig MacLellan, as well as public defense attorney Jim Barakat.
“This campaign is about more than electing a new District Attorney,” Deitch said. “It’s about building a culture of accountability and integrity where professional police work protects victims, not insiders, and where we follow the evidence no matter where it leads or who it implicates.”
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