Turahn L. Jenkins, Esq. has held many titles with the Allegheny County Public Defender’s office—he was a law clerk, assistant district attorney, deputy director of Pre-Trial Services, and chief deputy director.
Now, he wants another title, in another department: Allegheny County District Attorney.
On Monday, July 2, at Freedom Corner in the Hill District, flanked by numerous elected officials and community representatives, Jenkins announced he will challenge current Democratic District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. in 2019 for the job.
Concurrently, he announced his resignation from the Allegheny County Public Defender’s office as second-in-command.
“I’m running for District Attorney because I’m tired of sitting on the sidelines and watching as our criminal justice system destroys people’s lives, then doesn’t give them the tools or support they need to put them back together,” Jenkins said. “I try to teach my children to stand up and speak out when they see something wrong, and now I have to put my money where my mouth is. I don’t want the next generation to inherit a system that locks people up who haven’t been convicted of a crime just because they can’t afford bail, that treats addiction as a crime rather than an illness, that sees a defendant as a statistic rather than as a person. Tackling these injustices requires leadership from the DA’s Office, and I hope to offer that kind of leadership if elected.”
In the weeks since the shooting death of Antwon Rose II by East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld, protests have been held in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse, with people urging—better yet, demanding—Zappala to charge Officer Rosfeld in the ordeal. Protesters, for the most part, didn’t have total confidence in Zappala to file criminal charges against a police officer in the county, and Tim Stevens, president of the Black Political Empowerment Project, asked for Pennsylvania State Attorney General Josh Shapiro to take over the case.
Zappala ended up filing criminal homicide charges against Officer Rosfeld, saying during a June 27 press conference he didn’t feel “pressured” from outside forces, such as protesters or media coverage.
Leon Ford, who was shot five times by a Pittsburgh police officer in 2012, said during a recent rally at the Courthouse that if Zappala did not press charges against Officer Rosfeld, Ford would want someone to run against Zappala.
The charges were filed, and there is still someone running against him.
Jenkins grew up in Monroeville and is a graduate of Gateway High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. According to his biography on the Allegheny County Public Defender website, Jenkins earned a Juris Doctorate at the Duquesne University School of Law. While in law school, he completed judicial externships with the Honorable Ralph Cindrich in the U.S. District Court of Western Pennsylvania and with the Honorable Maureen Lally-Green in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he studied abroad at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.
Jenkins also has spent time in private practice as a sole practitioner, focusing primarily on Criminal Defense.
In February 2013, Jenkins rejoined the Public Defender’s office as the Deputy of Pre-Trial Division for the Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender. In January of 2016, he was promoted to Chief Deputy Public Defender.
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