Bibb County district attorney’s office holds press conference, but DA is MIA
The Bibb County district attorney’s office called a press conference Friday morning, but District Attorney Anita Reynolds Howard was not in attendance and her team refused to say where she was.
The press conference was called to update the community on the progress that Howard’s administration has made over the last six months and to walk through what they’re doing “to keep everyone safe.” The conference, called a “quarterly briefing” in a press release, came on the heels of an anti-violence initiative launched by Macon-Bibb County, Howard, county sheriff David Davis and the Bibb County School District.
Assistant district attorney Cindy Adams, assistant district attorney Sandra Matson, director of victim services Pam Faison, director of outreach, engagement and diversity Asha Ellen and chief investigator Aubrey Evans were in attendance.
The press conference highlighted some of the wins that the administration has had since Howard took office, including a pair of murder trial convictions. Another trial was scheduled for this week, but Superior Court Judge Howard Simms was forced to postpone it, the second time a murder trial has been canceled in the past month due to a lack of jurors. A bench trial is currently underway in a different case.
Why Howard wasn’t at the conference is unclear. Asked by reporters, assistant district attorney Adams said that Howard had “full confidence in her team.”
Reporters continued to press, asking whether the DA was in court or even in the county, which Adams did not directly answer, responding “We are here to answer your questions.” Adams declined to say whether Howard would lead another press conference, adding that she wasn’t in charge of Howard’s schedule.
Howard made history last year when she defeated incumbent David Cooke to serve as lead prosecutor for the Macon Judicial District. She’s the first woman and first Black DA in the district’s history, which covers Bibb, Peach and Crawford counties.
The Telegraph reached out to Howard’s spokesperson for more information but did not receive a response by the time this story was published.
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 12:22 PM.