William Petty: Not heading to the Peach State, But to the Republic of Georgia

From the Lynchburg prosecutor's office:

Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Bill Petty has been invited by the U.S. Department of Justice to travel to the Republic of Georgia to assist prosecutors in that county in establishing a computerized case management system. Petty will provide technical expertise in the design and implementation of a computer system that will support 600 prosecutors throughout the country. He will be spending five days in the capital city of Tbilisi working with the Georgia Office of the Prosecutor General. He will also be consulting with prosecutors from 39 regional offices from around the country.

“I am very honored to have been asked to participate in this project. As an emerging democracy the Republic of Georgia is in the beginning stages of the implantation of a criminal justice system. Being able to assist them in doing so will be a very rewarding personal and professional experience.” Petty said.

Petty has been a prosecutor for thirty years and has a long history of experience in technology in the prosecutor’s office. In 1981 he created one of the first prosecutor office management systems designed for desktop computers. Most recently he was one of the two co-developers of the Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorneys Information System (VCAIS). VCAIS is a statewide computer system that is operational in over thirty prosecutor’s offices in Virginia. VCAIS has received the 2003 Gold Governor’s Technology Award as well as a number of computer industry awards.

Petty will be leaving for the Republic of Georgia on October 15th and will be returning on October 22nd. Accompanying him on the trip will be Dick Whetstone, the VCAIS lead engineer with the Commonwealth’s Attorneys Services Council, as well as representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice.