Because of the life Ken Thompson lived, men are now free who were once in prison, minor offenders had their lives transformed, and Brooklyn was blessed with a District Attorney who tempered justice with wisdom and set the gold standard for public service in Kings County.

To lose him so young, a man of such substance, so central to efforts of fairness in justice, so powerful and sure-footed on decisions whether popular or not, feels like something went wrong in the world of expected tomorrows, and the sorrow of the loss of his wife and children ripples across the borough and state and in exoneration movements across the country. Words cannot express the pain of his passing, but the diversity of Brooklyn in mourning together, will be a fitting testament to the man and the county he served.