GREEN RIVER – County Attorney Brett Johnson announced his appointment of Ed Newell to serve as a deputy county attorney, replacing John Prokos who recently became a Circuit Court Judge.  Mr. Newell has 23 years of prosecution experience in Lander and Riverton, where he ultimately won two elections to the office of Fremont County Attorney.  Mr. Newell has prosecuted cases ranging from minor traffic violations to capital murder.  Newell led teams of Fremont County prosecutors in the capital murder cases of Andrew Yellowbear and Floyd Grady, both of whom are now serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Mr. Newell resigned his position in 2009, acknowledging that he had inappropriately accessed explicit emails sent to his personal email address using the Fremont County computer system.  It was determined that Mr. Newell received numerous sexually-explicit emails from a Riverton city employee, and that he responded to a limited number.  Newell said he resigned because he had to be accountable for his conduct, even though no criminal or state bar ethics charges were ever filed.  “It was a terribly stupid thing for me to do.  I should have told the sender immediately to stop sending the images to anyone,” said Newell.

Johnson said the resignation prompted a thorough background check, wherein he contacted Newell’s prior employer, judges, defense attorneys, other elected county and district attorneys, and former employees from the Fremont County Attorney’s office.  “Everyone thought Mr. Newell would be an excellent deputy county attorney,” said Johnson.

“At the end of the day, my responsibility is to build the best possible staff of lawyers to protect our community.  Mr. Newell is a powerful advocate for justice, and after thorough vetting, investigation and much reflection, I am convinced that he will be a great addition to the office,” said Johnson.