Letter to the Editor
Published 10:53 am Tuesday, January 14, 2025
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Editor’s note: Charles Jackson, husband of Cindy Jackson, wrote the following letter to the editor. Cindy Jackson is the current Escambia County Board of Education District 4 board member. The Atmore Advance has attempted to contact District Attorney Steve Billy to confirm his retirement, but attempts went unanswered. We have also sought comment from Billy regarding the lawsuit filed against him. Attempts on the lawsuit comments went unanswered as well.
I am writing this personal Letter to The Editor, in an effort to bring attention to the ongoing instability in the Escambia County District Attorney’s Office. For more than 15 months, DA Stephen M. Billy has wrongfully interjected himself, as the district attorney, into legal matters outside the duties, scope, and responsibilities of his office; specifically, his interference into the contract negotiations between a personal friend of his and the Escambia County School Board.
Steve Billy attended multiple board meetings during the contract negotiations and publicly opposed their lawful decision not to add four additional years to the existing contract of its former superintendent. Billy’s interference was personal in nature, and his unlawful actions resulted in the arrest of four innocent citizens; which included two elected school board members, a payroll records clerk and a newspaper reporter who stood their ground and refused to give into his intimidating threats to prosecute them – if they did not change their earlier vote – which was not to renew the superintendent’s contract.
After Billy’s judicial misconduct received national attention from multiple media outlets, Billy recused himself from prosecuting the alleged “school board corruption” cases, finally admitting that his obvious conflict of interest was both legal and personal in nature. For these reasons, State Attorney General Steve Marshall had no other choice, but to step in and take over the case. Only days following a preliminary hearing with a special prosecutor in agreement, the attorney general on behalf of the state of Alabama, dismissed all charges against the four with prejudice. Without even commenting on the case dismissals, Billy announced his intentions in September to retire as district attorney of the 21st Judicial Circuit effective Jan. 1, 2025.
To date there have been no apologies offered by the district attorney for destroying the lives of those he wrongfully indicted and had arrested; nor has there been any explanation given to the public with regard to “alleged crimes of corruption” which the district attorney’s conflicted investigation failed to reveal.
To legally address this matter, a federal lawsuit was filed on Nov. 20, 2024 against Billy and Escambia County Sherrif Heath Jackson for the unlawful arrests of four innocent citizens, and seizure of their personal property in clear violations of the defendant’s constitutional rights.
In addition to this federal lawsuit being filed, a formal complaint was filed on Dec. 10, 2024 with the Alabama State Bar Association’s Disciplinary Commission, requesting an immediate investigation into the now nationally recognized prosecutorial misconduct of Billy, while serving as the Escambia Couty district attorney, with regard to his conflicted investigation of the alleged school board corruption case.
Within days of the complaint being filed with the Alabama Bar Disciplinary Commission, requesting that Billy’s license to practice law in Alabama be cancelled, and that he be permanently disbarred; Billy notified State Sen. Greg Albritton that he would be withdrawing his supernumerary retirement paperwork that he submitted in September. Interview sessions which had been scheduled for prospective appointees desiring to serve out the remaining four years of Billy’s six-year elected term, were cancelled with little, or no notice; which is totally unprofessional, and should not be tolerated any longer by the citizens of Escambia County.
Findings from the Alabama State Bar Disciplinary Commission investigation should concern the citizens of Escambia County, yet the Brewton Standard has chosen neither to comment upon, or publish any news article regarding the complaint. Other local newspapers, such as the Atmore News and the TriCity Ledger News, published reports of the disciplinary commission complaint within days of the legal action being filed against Billy; with their reporting on the obvious lack of stability in the DA’s office being given front-page headline news coverage; and the district attorney not responding to their inquiries.
The citizens of Escambia County deserve better performance from their elected officials. The taxpayers in this county should never have to pay the costs to defend the unlawful actions of a rogue district attorney who publicly decries, “I don’t control much in Escambia County; but I do have copmplete control of the grand jury.” Not the case Billy, constitutional law controls grand juries; and violations as such, should be investigated for potential criminal abuse of power in the unlawful arrests of our citizens.
In conclusion, we will be eternally grateful to the Institute for Justice legal team that is representing us in our fight to regain our former standing as honest citizens of Escambia County Alabama. To date, their online media YouTube video presentation of the facts in this case has been viewed by almost 1.2 million people; with more than 6,000 negative comments registered against the DA and its sherriff. The whole world is watching to see if justice can be received by innocent citizens in the Escambia County Alabama courthouse.
Charles H. Jackson
Brewton, Alabama