Paris, Tenn.–Former Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Griffey has responded to her sudden firing by 24th District Attorney Matt Stowe at a pre-trial hearing on a murder case in Henry County Circuit Court.
In a statement to RadioNWTN, Griffey said this morning, “It is very disheartening to be a political pawn in an effort to influence an election. In my opinion, yesterday’s actions on the part of Matt Stowe were politically motivated.”
Griffey said, “My termination yesterday came on the heels of a post on Facebook the evening before wherein (Henry County) Sheriff Frey endorsed Neil Thompson for District Attorney and made a statement that ‘Weak plea deals lead to unsafe streets.’ I had absolutely nothing to do with the weak plea deals to which Sheriff Frey referred, and Sheriff Frey made that clear to Matt Stowe in a telephone communication immediately preceding my termination.”
Nevertheless, Griffey said, “Matt Stowe announced in court before numerous witnesses that he had no choice but to terminate me due to Sheriff Frey’s statement in his social media endorsement of Neil Thompson. The manner in which this was handled was highly unprofessional and inappropriate – being done in court publicly in front of numerous people at the time of a Circuit Court hearing on a first degree murder case. It is also in violation of the law.”
Griffey concluded, “Sadly, the only victory that happened yesterday was one for the inmates at the Henry County Jail, who are unquestionably rejoicing that one of the toughest prosecutors with whom they have dealt who has demanded some of the stiffest sentences is no longer prosecuting them, and I believe any law enforcement officer in Henry County would support that statement.”
In an unprecedented action, Stowe terminated Griffey at a pre-trial conference for the ongoing first-degree murder case against James Caddell, who is accused of killing his wife Stella in 2020. Caddell, of Puryear, is 77 and has been held without bond in the Henry County Jail.
As we reported last night, Stowe reportedly had the termination notice in writing and gave it to Griffey at the pre-trial conference, which was being held between the parties in the Henry County Circuit Court courtroom.
Another Assistant District Attorney, Stephanie Hale, was called to the court and the pre-trial conference resumed. A new date for the pre-trial conference has been set for July 18.
Stowe has not responded to requests for comment.