Civil rights lawyer William O. Wagstaff III, 42, introduced his candidacy for District Lawyer (DA) final November. He goals to develop into Westchester County’s first Black DA.
A group organizer with a ardour for public security, Wagstaff has a regulation apply that concentrates on civil rights litigation, prison protection, and municipal regulation. He has dealt with a number of the space’s highest-profile civil rights instances and lawsuits in opposition to police in varied cities and counties for utilizing extreme drive, unlawful police surveillance, capturing an unarmed man, and the demise of a Riker’s Island detainee held in solitary confinement.
“Mount Vernon is an attention-grabbing place. We’re a suburban group that has city points,” stated Wagstaff about his hometown. “You have got people who find themselves coming from social-economic backgrounds the place they’ve been deprived in most cases, whether or not it’s due to instructional drawback, the household construction, or not having the perfect function fashions to look as much as [and] uplift you.”
Wagstaff was introduced up in Mt. Vernon as an solely little one in a loving house. His dad and mom had been married for 45 years. His mom was a trainer and principal, and his father a gasoline station chain proprietor.
Wagstaff was closely concerned in sports activities and in the neighborhood as a youth, however had an “unlucky encounter” with somebody he thought was a buddy who forcibly extorted him for cash he had borrowed. He needed to work off his “debt” and ended up with a federal misdemeanor. He began regulation faculty at Tempo Regulation whereas on federal home arrest.
After his commencement and pursuing bar admittance, Wagstaff additionally earned an MBA from Fordham Enterprise Faculty. The choose who had sentenced him finally wrote his letter of advice and stays an in depth buddy, he stated.
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“I used to be lucky sufficient that I had a household that was ready to help me and guarantee that after I was caught within the system, I didn’t find yourself thrown away,” stated Wagstaff. He has since vowed to be the sort of lawyer for others that he wanted in his time of exigency.
Wagstaff has additionally served because the Metropolis of Mount Vernon’s particular prosecutor for police self-discipline, co-sponsored an annual coat drive with Collective for a Trigger in Yonkers, serves as chair of the African American Males of Westchester Mentoring Committee, is on the board of administrators of the Authorized Assist Society of Westchester, and is a member of the Westchester Black Bar Affiliation.
Wagstaff firmly believes in a data-driven strategy to the function of DA. He plans to make use of knowledge to cut back crime, enhance high quality of life, promote restorative justice, tackle racial disparities, present honest plea bargaining, cost with restraint, and eradicate hate crimes. Due to his experiences, he needs to offer younger folks a second probability at redemption, profession alternatives, and growth with supplemental punishments versus harsh sentencing. “There must be an extra funding in reaching into the group and supporting the younger folks,” stated Wagstaff.
At present, he lives in Westchester together with his anticipating spouse and two youngsters, and is hitting the marketing campaign path onerous. The DA race has, as of this Tuesday, a complete of 5 candidates who’re working to switch present Westchester County DA Miriam Rocah. The first shall be held on June 25, 2024.Ariama C. Lengthy is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam Information. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps hold her writing tales like this one; please contemplate making a tax-deductible present of any quantity at present by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
