Long-Time Prosecutor
Attorney General Dana Nessel has prosecuted thousands of rapes, homicides, armed robberies, carjackings, assaults, abuse, gang-related activity, and other violent crimes throughout her career.
Prosecutor
While attending law school at Wayne State University, one of the cases she worked on as part of her internship with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office — the nation’s 10th largest prosecutor’s office by caseload — was that of Benjamin Atkins, the serial killer convicted of raping and killing 11 women in Highland Park and Detroit.
Nessel parlayed her internship into an 11-year run as an Assistant Prosecutor for Wayne County before moving to private practice. While at Wayne County, she was considered the “go-to prosecutor” for sexual assault and child abuse cases and was required to consistently carry large caseloads that included the most serious cases in the office.
One of her supervisors during her time at Wayne County, Rod Hassinger, had this to say about her contributions: “I gave her the toughest cases we had because she handled them and she won.”
Kym Worthy, the current Wayne County Prosecutor, first got to know AG Nessel while she was a judge. She said this about Nessel’s prosecutorial skills: “When we worked together, I always thought she was a good prosecutor. But it was only when I got to the bench that I discovered that she was a phenomenal prosecutor. She is wicked smart.”
As a former Lead Attorney of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office Child Abuse Unit and Dana Nessel's former office mate in that unit, Lora Weingarden said she “saw first hand how hard Dana worked on behalf of our most vulnerable victims. Dana prosecuted hundreds of sexual abuse and physical abuse cases against adults who abused children and did so compassionately, ethically, and successfully. She is the person voters in this state should want to represent the People of the State of Michigan on serious cases involving children and other vulnerable victims.”
“[Dana] is the person voters in this state should want to represent the People of the State of Michigan on serious cases involving children and other vulnerable victims.”
“I gave [Dana Nessel] the toughest cases we had because she handled them and she won.”
Before being elected Attorney General, Nessel founded the Fair Michigan Justice Project, which worked with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office to investigate and prosecute violent hate crimes perpetrated against the LGBTQ community. She notched 30 convictions as part of this initiative — nearly all of which were homicides, attempted murder cases, or other serious cases of felony assault.
Since taking over as Attorney General, Nessel has continued the work of stopping hate crimes and thwarting racially and ethnically motivated violence before it starts. She created a Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism unit, the first of its kind in a state AG’s office. Part of this unit’s work involved investigating, prosecuting and convicting members of the Base, a neo-Nazi group that was preparing its Michigan members to fight a “race war.” Nessel has also trained prosecutors across the state in how to handle hate crimes.
In addition, Nessel has created a number of new prosecutorial units in the Dept. of Attorney General, including those focused on clergy abuse, elder abuse, opioids, payroll fraud, organized retail crime, PFAS water contamination, and illegal robocalls.
The Attorney General’s office has investigated two of the largest and most complicated sexual abuse cases in the history of the country. The cases involve clergy and the Boy Scouts of America. In October 2022, her Department secured its latest conviction in the ongoing clergy abuse investigation which, with the help of the Catholic Church, has encompassed 45 investigations and 11 defendants. Of these 11 defendants, 7 have been convicted of lengthy sentences and 4 cases are still pending — an especially remarkable feat in light of these being decades-old crimes. Comprehensive reports on each case will be published — the first of which, on the Diocese of Marquette, was released on October 27.
Tireless Advocate for victims of violent crimes
Nessel has hired more victim advocates than any previous Attorney General in the state, increased resources for crime victims, and implemented an address confidentiality program for domestic violence survivors. She has won numerous awards for her victim advocacy work, including LACASA’s 2022 Changemaker award. The prosecutors and survivors she has fought alongside hold her in high regard, as the quotes below illustrate.
“[AG Dana Nessel is] an experienced prosecutor who doesn’t quit in her pursuit of justice, and is above fear or favor. Anyone suggesting otherwise is being dishonest to voters.”
“I have known and worked with AG Dana Nessel for over 20 years, including practicing alongside her when we were both Assistant Prosecutors in Wayne County. I have seen firsthand her tireless commitment to fighting for justice for child and adult victims of sexual abuse and assault. Prosecuting sexual offenders has been one her most important priorities as Attorney General. AG Nessel has lead the statewide clergy abuse investigation, successfully prosecuting many offenders and bringing justice to their victims.
“She has stood beside the victims of Larry Nassar, continuing to investigate and charge those who protected & supported him. These are challenging cases and survivors need an Attorney General like Dana Nessel — an experienced prosecutor who doesn't quit in her pursuit of justice, and is above fear or favor. Anyone suggesting otherwise is being dishonest to voters. I fully support AG Nessel” — Angie Povailaitis, lead prosecutor in the case against Larry Nassar, the former MSU doctor who was convicted of assaulting hundreds of women and children.
“Attorney General Nessel was relentless in protecting children who were victims in the Larry Nassar case. I saw this with my own eyes, so I know it's just plain false to call her soft on sex offenders. She is one of the most tireless prosecutors of sexual predators in the country. She served search warrants and not only worked to hold Nassar accountable, but also secured convictions against the MSU officials who enabled him. I am certain that her personal commitment to the protection of children has prevented hundreds of girls and boys from being sexually victimized, which is the complete opposite of sexualizing children. In my view, she is nothing short of heroic” — Sarah Klein, survivor of abuse perpetrated by Larry Nassar and John Geddert.
“I am certain that [AG Dana Nessel’s] personal commitment to the protection of children has prevented hundreds of girls and boys from being sexually victimized.”
“As a survivor of clergy child sexual abuse and an advocate for other victims of clergy sexual abuse, I can personally say AG Nessel is absolutely a fierce advocate for victims because I’ve witnessed her in action many times. To suggest she’s soft on sex offenders is blatantly pushing a false narrative of AG Nessel's prosecutorial record.
“She set up the clergy abuse investigation, which garnered over 700 tips. Thanks to Dana’s initiative, the shame and blame were taken off the shoulders of the victims and put back where it belongs: on the (clergy) perpetrators. Her persistence and genuine care for victims has led to convictions in at least 11 criminal cases, as well as dozens of priests being ‘de-frocked’ and unable to dress, participate, or identify as a priest anymore — including my abuser.
“One of the best outcomes of the investigation was finally getting Michigan's archdioceses to cooperate with the AG’s office rather than hiding, moving or sweeping these predators under the rug. She was the first AG to accomplish that with a clergy investigation, and I will be forever grateful for her work” — Jeanne Hunton, clergy abuse survivor and member of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) Michigan.
Support from Law Enforcement
Attorney General Dana Nessel has garnered the endorsement of law enforcement officers from the Detroit Police Officers Association, Wayne County Deputies & Sheriffs representing nearly 3 million Michigan residents. Click below to view Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt and Kalamazoo Sheriff Rick Fuller discussing why they support Dana:
“Criminal justice systems all across the state of Michigan need [AG Dana Nessel’s support], and we need to support her.”
