Union Co. prosecutor to resign

Union Co. prosecutor to resign

Kenneth Honeycutt, one of the state's most prominent district attorneys, has announced he is resigning effective Oct. 31.

Honeycutt has served as a judge and prosecutor for 31 years in Union County and neighboring counties. He announced his resignation three weeks after being trounced in his bid for a state House seat -- and as the N.C. State Bar looks into allegations of Honeycutt's misconduct in a death row case.

A former president of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys, Honeycutt is known as an alpha male among prosecutors for his aggressive prosecutions. The screensaver on the computer in his office reads like a motto for his courtroom demeanor:

"Attack, attack always attack!"

He has often worn a golden lapel pin shaped like a hangman's noose in court and hands out noose lapel pins to assistant prosecutors after they win death penalty cases. During his campaign, Hoffman defended them as "a morale booster" for staff.

In April, Honeycutt took an unusual step for a prosecutor: He requested a new trial for a death row inmate he prosecuted. Honeycutt agreed that Jonathan Hoffman should have been informed of a federal immunity deal given to the state's star witness against him. Honeycutt said he did not know about the agreement.

By agreeing to the new trial, Honeycutt avoided discussion of more serious allegations raised by Hoffman's lawyers. They submitted evidence in court filings that Honeycutt and Scott Brewer, then his assistant, knowingly used false evidence at trial and altered documents before submitting them to a judge for review. The Hoffman case was the subject of a lengthy News & Observer story in November.

Honeycutt labeled the allegations spurious, but the State Bar has opened an investigation into the case.

The State Bar does not discuss its investigations unless public charges are filed, but its investigators clearly have been at work.

The State Bar has requested the Hoffman file from his defense lawyers. One of his lawyers, Rob Hale of Raleigh, said he made copies of the entire file and delivered the documents to the bar. In addition, a State Bar investigator attended and took notes at the April hearing when Honeycutt agreed to a new trial for Hoffman.

Honeycutt did not return telephone calls to his office Tuesday.

Honeycutt has a strong reputation for his aggressive prosecution of domestic violence. He has vigorously prosecuted assaults on females, and he started a program that trains officers to collect evidence of domestic violence.

Honeycutt ran for a seat in the state House this year but lost by a wide margin in the Democratic primary to incumbent Pryor Gibson.

After the loss, Honeycutt told The Charlotte Observer that he planned to retire from the district attorney's office when his term ends in 2006.

"I don't feel like a beaten man," Honeycutt said in July. "I definitely would not rule out running again."