Barksdale seeking 2nd term as District Attorney

Published 8:54 am Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale III is seeking his second four-year term as the top state prosecutor in the eight-county circuit.

The 36-year-old Barksdale qualified in Atlanta on Monday to officially seek re-election.

“I am deeply honored to serve the people of this circuit as their district attorney,” Barksdale said. “And I want to continue to do this job for them.”

Barksdale, a Washington County native now living in Jones County with his wife and their three children, said he considers it a privilege to serve as district attorney.

The eight-county judicial circuit is the largest in Georgia. It is comprised of Baldwin, Putnam, Jones, Morgan, Greene, Hancock, Wilkinson and Jasper counties.

During the last 3 ½ years, Barksdale and his staff of assistant district attorneys have faced many challenges — one of which was the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We started out working through a backlog of cases due to COVID,” Barksdale said. “We tried serious violent cases in gymnasiums and civic halls, and looking back at that we didn’t really have time to think about it, but it was pretty wild and challenging, but we made it through that difficult time.”

Barksdale said the challenges of the pandemic, coupled with a pair of death penalty cases, it was even more challenging.

“It was an unprecedented time,” he said. “I’m thankful that during those times I was blessed to have really, really good law enforcement and really, really good personnel within the D.A.’s office to get through those times.”

He commended the judges and clerks of Superior Courts in each of the counties within the circuit for their willingness to keep things going as smoothly as possible.

Before being elected district attorney, Barksdale worked as an assistant district attorney under the late District Attorney Fred Bright and he succeeded District Attorney Stephen A. Bradley, who was elected as a Superior Court judge within the circuit.

As the new district attorney, Barksdale learned quickly that the job involves much more than just what goes on in courtrooms.

As district attorney, he oversees the budgets of eight offices as well as a state budget.

Barksdale said he is attempting to build on the legacy left by Bright and Bradley.

“We want to continue to build on that foundation,” Barksdale said.

The district attorney said his office has tried 38 homicide cases within the circuit, and he’s hoping to continue pushing forward with several big trials remainder of this year.

“As far as reflecting on the work that my office has been able to do, I’ve tried to take a real blue-collar approach, and that’s to get up every day and get your fanny in the seat and work, and try your best to treat everybody fairly no matter what their economic status is, no matter what color their skin is. Work hard, follow the law and treat people the way you want to be treated. I’ve tried to do that. I’ve had a lot of moments where I’ve learned about myself and I’ve learned more about what it means to be the district attorney. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of serving this circuit for another four years.”

Barksdale said he and his staff are constantly striving to become better each day.

“Part of the challenge for us is that we can’t become complacent,” he said. “The service that we provide our community, including the last three years, I’d stack our record and the work we’ve done against anybody in the state of Georgia. We’ve been very effective, efficient and successful. However, we are only as good as today. We’ve got to get up every single day and go and chop that wood. We’ve got to get up every single day and put our best foot forward. That’s what I’m committed to do. It’s easy for me to do that because I enjoy this job, but more importantly, I do this because I truly love each and every one of our communities within this circuit. I do this because I want our schools, our families — all the things that make our communities special, I want to do everything I can to protect those things.”

Barksdale said the role he holds as district attorney isn’t just a job.

“I’m doing this because of my love for people,” he said. “It’s going to truly be an honor for me to hopefully do this for another four years.”