It was one year ago Tuesday that Marilyn Mosby was sworn in as the Baltimore City State's Attorney, it so happens to be a year that has defined Baltimore City for better or worse.
"It has been a very tumultuous year,” Mosby said, “But one in which it was a reflection of our city, very resilient. Despite the obstacles, we are still standing."
2015, of course, brought riots and unrest followed quickly by the charges against six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray.
It was the moment that launched Mosby, a relative unknown, into the national spotlight.
But as the unrest subsided, the violence surged marking arguably Baltimore's deadliest year in recent history.
It was a noticeable spike to Physician in Chief of Shock Trauma Dr. Thomas Scalea, one he thought related to the unrest, an assertion Marilyn Mosby disagreed with as both were guests on ABC2's Square Off with Richard Sher back in September.
"It seems temporally related to the riots though," Scalea remarked.
"I tend to disagree,” Mosby answered, “I think the violence was already going up it was already like 28 murders. This was the month…how many snow days did we have in January? So I think violence is cyclical."
That was Mosby’s answer in September, pressed again Tuesday with a year of data she responded, “So I am not a criminologist. I can't tell you why crime takes place but when you're talking about 24 percent of Baltimore's population living in poverty, 35 percent of children living in poverty, I think you have to think it has to do with socio economics."
It is an issue laid bare by the unrest resulting in a monthly homicide rate nearly doubling on monthly average since the riots in April with Baltimore eventually topping out at 344 murders.
No matter the cause, Mosby said the numbers are all the more reason for her holistic approach to being a prosecutor.
The state's attorney spoke about her job program for first time non-violent offenders, better funding witness protection programs by a quarter million dollars, better community engagement and developing better cases against violent offenders
We were the only television news organization to see the vaunted war room this summer where the feds and locals are working together to build better cases. Marilyn Mosby said those cases are beginning to come in stronger.
"Much stronger. Because what is happening now is that we are pooling our resources. We have the DEA, the FBI, BPD, we have the state police, we have the U.S. Attorneys, we have my prosecutors who are all brainstorming on how we can get these individuals that we identified off our streets," Mosby said.
Still, the most notable moment for the prosecutor came in May when she stood on the steps of the War Memorial building and charged six Baltimore police officers.
William Porter's trial resulted in a hung jury last month and come Monday, jury selection for officer Caesar Goodson will begin.
The state's attorney says despite the intense interest, she cannot comment.
"This case will be litigated in court. I can tell you I cannot mention it. There is a gag order in place and I have to respect the judge’s order."
We asked Mosby several questions about the trials including her reaction to the hung jury last month, each was met with that last statement.
Meanwhile Mosby says she had a legislative agenda this year as well.
In Annapolis she will lobby for stricter sexual assault legislation and to try and stiffen the penalties for second degree murder from 30 years to 40 years.
Download the ABC2 News app for the iPhone, Kindle and Android.
