Meet Your District
Attorney
2004 Alabama District Attorney
of the Year
A graduate of the University of South Alabama and
the University of Alabama School of Law, John M. Tyson Jr., JD,
was elected to the Alabama State Board of Education in 1980. He
held the office for the next 14 years, 9 of those as the presiding
officer of that body. In 1994, Tyson was appointed to the position
of Mobile County (AL) District Attorney by then-Governor Jim Folsom,
and in 1998 and 2004 was elected to continue his service in the
position.
Tyson's comprehensive
reorganization of the District Attorney's Office into 16 service
teams allowed staff members to develop, accomplish and monitor
annual prosecution goals and objectives in keeping with the agency's
established "compelling
focus."
Tyson gained statewide
recognition for the highly successful juvenile crime prevention
program,
"Make the Right Choice." He has made several appearances on national
television and radio in conjunction with "Secret Safe Place for Newborns" --
a first-of-its-kind effort to provide mothers in crisis with a safe,
anonymous option for giving up their unwanted newborns for adoption. "Secret
Safe Place" was named a finalist in the nationally acclaimed
"Innovations in American Government Awards." Twelve babies have been
saved in Mobile County &endash; and hundreds more nationally &endash;
since the program began.
In another trend-setting
initiative, the
"Good Samaritans" crime victims assistance program trains citizen
volunteers to offer on-the-scene assistance to vulnerable victims
such as the elderly and women living alone. This program also is
leading an effort to create a comprehensive Victim Service Network
in Mobile County.
In 2003, the Mobile
County District Attorney's Office established the Make the Right
Choice
"Helping Families Initiative" to help the county's at-risk youth
before they get in serious trouble with the law. This multi-agency
task force made 2,227 referrals for at-risk youth and their families
during the 2004-05 school year.
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