Michigan AG Nessel asks Wayne County Prosecutor Worthy to take over Flint water cases

Wayne County (Detroit) Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy attends Joyful Heart Foundation's special announcement about up to $35 Million in funding to help eliminate rape kit backlog in cities nationalwide, at Manhattan District Attorney's Office on November 12, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is asking Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to take over criminal cases connected to the Flint water crisis.

Nessel made the announcement Friday afternoon. 

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“I have total confidence in Prosecutor Worthy and her office,” said Nessel, “and there is no one whose opinion I value more when it comes to the complexity and importance of these cases. We are hoping to have a response from Prosecutor Worthy regarding acceptance of these cases soon.”  

In a statement, the AG's office said Nessel has provided Worthy with the relevant materials related to the cases and has requested that her office take over the prosecution of the criminal cases on behalf of the Attorney General’s office, which is currently represented by private attorney Todd Flood.

Flood had been appointed to prosecute the cases by former AG Schuette due to conflicts created by the Department of Attorney General defending the state in civil cases brought by Flint residents.

Worthy has not yet accepted the cases, but released this statement:

“Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked the Wayne County Prosecutors Office (WCPO) to do an independent evaluation of the Flint Water criminal cases. A decision will be made at a later time addressing what entity will continue these prosecutions. The WCPO will not be making any public statements and will provide the Attorney General with a full report when this assessment is completed. It is important to remember that there is a lot of material to review as these investigations are almost three years old.”

UPDATE: Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy will take over Flint water cases


About the Author:

Ken Haddad has proudly been with WDIV/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters, and helps lead the WDIV Insider team. He's a big sports fan and is constantly sipping Lions Kool-Aid.