State Attorney Melissa Nelson will add extra step for lawyers pursuing death penalty

It's day one on the job for the new State Attorney overseeing cases in Northeast Florida’s fourth district.

Melissa Nelson has taken over for Angela Corey.

Corey is taking on a new role as general counsel in Clay County after losing her reelection bid.

One surprise when Nelson arrived to her new office on Tuesday: There was no furniture.

Nelson said Corey had owned all the furniture and taken it with her, so Nelson brought in a random desk from elsewhere in the building for the day.

Furniture is far from the only thing Nelson plans to change at the State Attorney’s Office.

On her first day, Nelson decided to forego a formal swearing in ceremony and instead met with her staff first thing.

“I want this to be a place that people want to come work,” said Nelson.

Corey was criticized for her frequent pursuit of the death penalty, particularly among African-American offenders.

Nelson said when a lawyer in her office decides to seek the death penalty, she’s adding another step to the process.

“They will make that case and present all of the aggravation as well as the mitigation to a panel of lawyers here who will make a recommendation to me. And I ultimately will have the decision about whether or not to pursue the death penalty,” said Nelson.

Nelson would not say whether her office will prosecute fewer death penalty cases than Corey’s administration.

“You know, I can’t predict what will happen. I think that process will work to instill confidence in the public,” said Nelson.

Nelson also wants to create a “conviction integrity unit,” a group of prosecutors with a mission to reverse wrongful convictions.

“Right now I’m looking for funding to staff such a unit. It would be the first unit in the state of Florida, as I understand it,” said Nelson.

You can see our full interview with Nelson on Action News Jax Sunday, which airs at 10 a.m. on FOX30 and at 4:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on CBS47.

Cox Media Group