DA: Justice isn't being served

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Lately it seems crime is happening across Charlotte and residents are demanding answers. So WCNC went to Mecklenburg County's district attorney, who says people in Charlotte aren't getting justice.

Mecklenburg County’s DA is blunt, seems honest, and is angry because he says his assistant DA's caseloads are insane.

“The troubling part is that those are the caseloads of some of the assistant DA's that are carrying serious felony caseloads,” District Attorney Peter Gilchrist said.

He's almost as angry as the people of Charlotte seem to be. Residents have been marching and meeting all across town, trying to figure out what to do about the recent rash of crime.

“Are the people in Mecklenburg County getting justice? Is there any way for them to get justice?" we asked in an interview.

"How in the world, when you look at what must be done to prepare a case, to try it, to provide all the information that the law requires that we give to the defendant -- it's extremely difficult, if not impossible for us to be doing an adequate job with caseloads that large,” Gilchrist said.

He says his office staff needs to double and some suspects don't get tried because the prosecutors are so overwhelmed.

“Obviously when you've got a caseload you set priorities of what you're going to try,” he said.

Another problem, he says, is that time means suspects are set free.

“We do have cases deteriorate because of the time it takes to get them disposed of,“ he said.

Gilchrist says he just needs more help and he points out the state spends three times more money on defendants who can't afford attorneys then they do on the prosecutor's office.