Wayne Co. Prosecutor

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy received her undergraduate degree in economics and political science from the University of Michigan, and her law degree from the University of Notre Dame School of Law. In 1984 she began her legal career at the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, and in 1989, she became the first African-American selected by the office as a Special Assignment Prosecutor. She specialized in high profile murder cases, including the prosecution of Toni Cato Riggs (convicted of the murder of her husband, a returning Gulf War Veteran) and of two Detroit Police Officers convicted in the beating death of motorist Malice Green. 

Worthy is an adjunct professor of criminal law at the University of Detroit/Mercy and has lectured at Harvard Law School, the University of Notre Dame Law School, Wayne State University Law School and the Universite des Sciences Sociales in Toulouse, France. She has lectured for the National College of District Attorneys, the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, and the Detroit Police Department.

Recognizing that "service is the rent we pay for living," Worthy is active in The United Way, The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, The Lead Poisoning Task Force of Michigan, the Optimist Club, and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She created the Alexandra Simone Fund for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Henry Ford Hospital in memory of her deceased daughter. The fund provides services to the parents of prematurely born infants. An advocate for all children, she frequently speaks out about the need for fostering and adoption of children who do not have a permanent home. Worthy was named one of "America's Best and Brightest" by two nationally-circulated magazines, and has received over 100 other awards and honors for her public service and community leadership. She is a sought-after motivational speaker for youth, civic, and church organizations