Families of several Tucson crime victims have been out in public โ in a TV commercial and at a recent news conference โ criticizing Pima County Attorney Laura Conover, who will know later this month if she will retain her seat as the countyโs top prosecutor.
Conover, who is nearing the end of her first term, faces Democrat Mike Jette in the July 30 primary. The winner will serve as county attorney for the next four years because there is no challenger in Novemberโs general election.
โLaura Conover failed Isaac,โ the family of Isaac Benitez says in a frequently-aired television ad that also is posted on Jetteโs campaign site.
Benitez was 17 years old when he was killed in July 2023 in an incident involving two other teenagers he met to sell a gun, court records show.
Conover called the ad, and a recent news conference that included the Benitez family and others families, โexploitive.โ
โThe loss of a child is heartbreaking. It defies the natural life order. I am grateful to our Victim advocates who are so helpful to victims processing pain. But in recent days, and again this morning we have seen victim grief exploited for political gain in tv campaign ads and speeches. That is appalling and beneath the dignity of this office,โ Conover said in an email.
โLetโs be real clear, Iโm not talking about their behavior whatsoever. I am talking about their grief being exploited for political gain. And it comes as a great relief to me that they donโt feel used,โ She later said in an interview. โI hope they donโt feel used tomorrow or six months from now, or a year from now.โ
Jette said his aim was to amplify the voices of bereaved families but that his campaign was not involved in organizing the criticism.
โThese are stories about how you conducted yourself in the office, and those are all relevant.โ Jette said of the families whoโve been publicly critical of Conover. โItโs disturbing, so I think the public needs to know.โ
โThis is not a campaign thing. This is about, are you giving voice to the people whoโve never had one,โ Jette said. โI think thatโs the bigger story.โ
Thomas Volgy, a professor in the University of Arizonaโs School of Government & Public Policy and former mayor of Tucson, said that the pushback on Conoverโs prosecutorial approach should not be surprising.
โFor over 45 years, there have only been two county attorneys,โ Volgy said. โLaura Conover ran on a campaign of saying that things need to change, and indicated a whole series of changes she wanted to make that evidently led to a great deal of unhappiness from people who liked the way things were going, and a lot of support for people who didnโt like way things were going,โ
Volgy said that the same trend is playing out across the United States. A new county attorney takes office with a more progressive approach to prosecution that focuses more on addressing underlying issues of crime than incarceration, and find themselves aggressively challenged when they run for reelection.
โIt becomes sort of a test about a new approach, versus the older approaches to prosecution,โ Volgy said.
Some families say theyโre speaking out against Conover because they believe there was no justice for their loved ones.
The Benitez family, for example, says they feel the teens responsible for Isaacโs death, Anthony Duran and Antonio Castro, got off easy after they were sentenced to probation.
Chris Ward, the assigned prosecutor on the case said the decision was made to offer plea agreements to Duran and Castro based on the circumstances of the incident.
Isaacโs Family still believes Isaac was beaten and run over, but prosecutors say Benitez sustained fatal injuries after the vehicle driven by Castro pulled away with Benitez hanging on.
โThe facts based on the investigation as we understood it, was that Isaac was not run over by the vehicle, he fell off the vehicle. Thatโs consistent with the evidence we had in the case. We donโt have any evidence that Isaac was attacked, kicked, beaten by either Castro or Duran. We think the vehicle was moving forward, Isaac fell off and thatโs consistent with his injuries,โ Ward said.
Benitezโs autopsy report shows significant skull fractures and head trauma, as well as road rash.
โWe felt that there was a danger in going to trial, that there would be an acquittal of both defendants,โ Ward said. โWe had the fear that a jury would see what happened as more of an accident than a crime- a reckless crime where somebody lost their life.โ
โWe made Castro plead guilty to negligent homicide. We made Duran plead guilty to manslaughter but we left it up to the judge as to whether or not they would go to prison,โ
Ward said, โI argued for prison for both Castro and Duran, the judge decided to give them a chance on probation.โ
Araceli Benitez, Isaacโs cousin, said the family is upset with how Conoverโs office handled the case.
โThey kept us in the dark about many things.โ Benitez said. โThey say that they didnโt want to take it to trial for our benefit, but we kind of wish they would have prosecuted the hardest they can.โ
Since the death of Isaac Benitez, his family have become advocates, not only for him, but other families who have suffered similar losses.
โSeeing so many other stories of so many families in the same situation, itโs hurtful,โ Benitez said.
Conover said attempts by the prosecution team, the departmentโs victim services division and by the advocacy group Homicide Survivors, to contact the Benitez family have been declined.
โThere is, always and forever, the opportunity for them to change their mind on that,โ Conover said.
Several other families spoke out against their experiences with loss and the justice system during a news conference and rally Monday.
Daphne Dickinson was among those in attendance. Her nephew Thomas Dickinson was killed in 2017 after a confrontation with an armed security guard near South Kolb Road. The security guard claimed self-defense.
While the case was not overseen by Conover, Dickinson said that the family and lawyers have requested several times to meet with Conover to discuss what they believe to be critical new findings in the case.
โWhen victims, families or victims of homicide are requesting to meet, it should be granted,โ Dickinson said. โBecause they work for us.โ
According to Dickinson, the families have formed a tight support network and said she hopes sharing their stories will bring about improvements.
โWe all are trying to advocate for each other,โ she said. โIโm hoping that other people will come forward and realize that there is a support system for them even though we may not be getting the support that we should have and deserve to have from Pima County.โ
โWe just need to be heard, and we need action,โ Dickinson said.
Also at the news conference Monday were friends and family of Louie Torres. Raul Salcito, a spokesperson for the family, said that they are still searching for answers after the 20-year-old was killed in a car crash.
โAll these stories are the same way, โConover didnโt do this. Conover handed out a very light sentence,โโ Salcito said. โWeโre not getting justice here. Nobodyโs getting justice.โ
Conover says she has always strived to make time for crime victims during her term in office.
โI made a promise that any family who had lost a loved one to a criminal incident would have the right to meet with me personally if they so chose, and thatโs been true for the three and a half years.โ Conover said.
She also defended how the office has handled its criminal cases and said victimโs grief and how the office handles their cases is a top priority.
โI have sat with some 100 families now experiencing this type of devastating loss.โ Conover said. โItโs why we have a fully staffed Victim Services Division, why we have victim advocates who work with families, honoring victims rights and making sure that their views on the case are expressed many, many times, as has occurred in all of these cases, and that they are considered by the homicide panel.โ
To the families of the victims, Conover said her prosecution team, and the officeโs victim advocates will continue to meet with them as many times as it takes to get justice in their cases.
โThatโs what we always do and will continue to do, Conover said. โMy thoughts are always with them, and weโre going to do the best we can in service towards justice.โ
