http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/opinion/the-death-of-a-visionary-prosecutor.html 2016-10-12 09:57:54 The Death of a Visionary Prosecutor In a short time, Ken Thompson made big and welcome changes in Brooklyn’s long-troubled district attorney’s office. === Prosecutors like Ken Thompson don’t come around often. In 2013 Mr. Thompson was elected as Brooklyn’s first black district attorney, beating out an entrenched incumbent, Charles Hynes, whose decades-long tenure had devolved into a stew of Mr. Thompson vowed to clean up the office — a promise he was making good on until his The tragedy is, of course, greatest for his family. But Mr. Thompson’s death is also a big blow to the His earliest and perhaps bravest move was to call into question his predecessor’s Mr. Thompson When Mr. Thompson ran for office, this page We were happy to have been proved wrong about his ability to run the third-biggest prosecutor’s office in the country, and right about his commitment to a boldly progressive agenda that has become a national model. That agenda is now being overseen by Eric Gonzalez, who as Mr. Thompson’s second in command worked closely with him on his top initiatives, and who was sworn in as acting district attorney on Tuesday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has the authority to name Mr. Thompson’s replacement, would honor his legacy best by leaving Mr. Gonzalez in place until next year’s election. Speaking to The Times in May, Mr. Thompson said: “Protesters want revolution in the criminal justice system overnight. That won’t happen. The way we’ll bring permanent reforms is when people like me get off sidelines and decide to spend a life of public service.” In Mr. Thompson’s case, that life was far too short.