Longtime prosecutor Brian Holmgren, who developed a reputation as a tough and sometimes controversial advocate for children, was fired today. Both Holmgren and office spokeswoman Dorinda Carter confirmed the assistant district attorney's departure on Tuesday evening.
For the last two weeks, Holmgren's work has come under fire as stories by both The Tennessean and the Associated Press accused him of seeking sterilization for a woman involved in plea negotiations with the DA's office.
After the AP revealed that the practice might not be isolated — they reported that at least four women faced sterilization as a means of avoiding jail time in the last five years — District Attorney Glenn Funk banned using the technique in pleas.
From the story:
The most recent Nashville case involved Jasmine Randers, 36, who had been under court supervision for mental illness when she left her home state of Minnesota. She gave birth in West Memphis, Arkansas, then fled a homeless shelter to come to Nashville, said her attorney, assistant public defender Mary Kathryn Harcombe. Court records show Randers reported awakening in a motel, where she'd slept in a bed with the baby, only to find the child unresponsive. She reportedly called a taxi two hours later and took the child to a local hospital, where the infant was pronounced dead.There was no sign of injury, and the cause of death was undetermined.
Police later learned that in 2004, Randers stabbed herself in the stomach while pregnant, though the fetus was not harmed. She told investigators that it happened when she fell down the stairs while cutting fruit.
Reached by Pith on Tuesday evening, Holmgren said that the case was not the reason for his departure.
“It has no connection to the Randers case whatsoever,” Holmgren said. The former ADA said he disputes the nature of how sterilization was broached in those negotiations.
After a reporter asked why he was fired, he replied, “I’m not going to discuss that with you now.”
“Suffice it to say that what you need to know is there is a fundamental difference of opinions in how to handle cases in our unit between myself and Mr. Funk.”
Pith will have more on Wednesday.
