Krasner is just another road mark in the democrat history of failure. Failed leaders, failed policies and failed results. The job of a prosecutor is to prosecute criminals and protect law-abiding citizens, not to pander to a liberal lawless constituency.
3
It's frightening that Kramer was elected with NO experience whatsoever. Is this the new matra for the Dem party - just have an ideal that we seek to move towards and to heck with experience?! Isn't this why we have Trump in office? I for one am all for some reforms, but the pendulum has swung too far. We've been testing this social re-engineering in ATL for a number of years now. Gangs are at an all time high, crime is outrageous in areas of the city - the wealthier areas - and the police do nothing. If one is arrested, they are released for seminars where they are taught it's not nice to rob and threaten people. The idea was to a) reduce the number of blacks in prison and b) to educate and thereby minimize recidivism. We have reduced the number of blacks in prison, but that's because they are released. But the latter hope - reduce recidivism - has not happened. So now we have a city that isn't safe, a place where people don't even want to shop at the malls (one of the highest crime centers). Only those that can afford to valet shop in the city. As a result, stores in are crisis. Not because of the Internet, because they are not safe, even during the day!! People like Krasner are best left to the think-tanks, developing ideas to make things better where most are left on paper.
2
This article feels so good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VArPPSt5vso
1
such an important piece. Krasner sounds like the real deal, hoping to hear more from him.
4
Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, William Clinton, Richard Nixon , John Mitchell, Jefferson Davis, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama were/are lawyers.
Law is gender, color aka race, ethnicity, national origin, faith, socioeconomics, politics, education and history plus arithmetic. Law is not fair nor just nor moral nor objective. Both humanity denying black African enslavement and equality defying separate and unequal black African Jim Crow were both legal.
A progressive or regressive lawyer are both possible. Law is not science. There are too many variables and unknowns to craft the double-blind experiments that provide predictable and repeatable results. Governing and lawyering happen along a spectrum.
1
Leamon Williams (Leland?) If Houston Texas, all state football and basketball, president of the Black Texas Baptist church bands, ~ 22, who was not allowed to move both feet to music, was director of the Seattle Neighborhood House Rainier Vista and Holly Park teen program. After a near shooting incident he asked me to help him with the 25 housing project teens, about evenly boys and girls, who had been released from the youth center to high school and the teen offenders program. For one night a week we officially met together, and every night there was basketball and various other activities for teens, young adults, older, and seniors.
Somewhat strangely and a great testament to Lelamon, thirty years later not one of those young men and women had ever been arrested as an adult. (Even though every single one but one had been thrown out of Cleveland HS by February!) Trumped up charges. One of the “low IQ” girls had straight A in college. One young man had over 300 restaurants using his special barbecue sauce by his 22nd birthday and 46 employees on the assembly line at Boeing working for him by his 40s. Fifty years later they all are successful.
(And then in 1967 Mr Williams went home to Houston for the Thanksgiving holidays, found out his family was not registered to vote, took them down and got them registered, and walking back was run over by a Mac truck, dead, while walking home on the sidewalk. No ticket. No charges.
Such programs have repeatedly worked in Seattle.
1
Question to be asked: why does one become a police officer? Is it “Boomtown” or”Chicago?”
1
If someone breaks into your home or car and steals from
you and then are just given a citation what prevents them from coming by again and again to steal ?
People who use illegal drugs often have trouble finding
money for buying those drugs - how is citing them and
letting them "walk" helping them or society ?
There needs to be serious Bail Reform, but letting those
who are most likely to commit another serious felony,
while waiting for their trial - does seem to be asking
for trouble.
2
A District Attorney who is leading reason through the doors of Justice is part of a long needed and unfortunately overdue movement which if implemented in the rest of our nation may bring about the "Hope and Change" that our last President promised.
Brotherly reason brings a complimentary ring to brotherly love and I wish both Mr Krasner and our progressing city continued success
1
Mister Krasner misunderstands his office. He is not there to help dispense justice in a fair, impartial manner. He is there to provide fodder for the prison-industrial complex.
If there are fewer people going through the system there is less need for jails, police, prison, prison guards. There is good money to be made in all this, but only if the numbers are there. What is a capitalist, heavily invested in prison equipment manufacture, to do when faced with someone like Mister Krasner?
I'd been waiting for a progress report since Krasner's election. Thanks. Hope there will be another follow up in 6 months or so.
The photography accompanying this piece is outstanding, especially the portrait of Keir Bradford-Grey. Kudos to Christopher Lee.
3
You can't incarcerate your way to safety and security.
7
The president is inciting violence. History will be unkind to the spineless sops who stand by idly. McConnell, Ryan, et al.
2
Legalize and/or decriminalize drugs. Follow Portugal’s example. It’s working there.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it
Baby steps here in Canada legalizing cannabis , not to mention several States in the US. Positive results for the most part.
6
Well it will be interesting to see what these changes bring. Of course, Mr. Krasner will likely be in a nice speaking position or law professor by then. It could really go either way.
Good luck to the people of Philadelphia.
Here in Seattle we are moving towards that model. The police in Seattle do not do much policing these days, and it shows in the streets. Violent crime has not gone up, though. Just a lot of disorder in the streets, and when you are the victim of a non-violent crime, they tell you just to log a report online. So basically nothing. If your house is broken into, they don't even bother.
9
Where are the metrics?...nowhere in this article does it talk about if or how the new Philly DA is measuring the results of controversial policies , i.e., does no bail result in a higher rate of no shows for trial or more crime while being out on bail? The article says that Krasner has made the pitch that his policies can lead to reduce crime...well, has it?
8
@Will S.
"does no bail result in a higher rate of no shows for trial or more crime while being out on bail?"
That is not a legitimate criterion. The Constitution's 8th Amendment prohibits excessive bail regardless of the consequences. Of course, there is the issue of what constitutes "excessive".
All bail is punishment without trial or conviction, regardless of the purpose for imposing it, regardless whether the accused is innocent or guilty, and regardless whether the person ever has a trial or ever is convicted. If the accused is not able to post the bail, he remains incarcerated. If he posts a bail bond, then it costs him the expense (usually 10%) of the bail bond regardless of the outcome of the case. If he has the cash to post the bond, then it at least costs him the interest he could have earned by investing that cash.
Therefore, all bail offends the concepts of presumed innocence and of no punishment except upon conviction upon a fair trial.
I would argue that "excessive" is, at minimum, any bail which the accused is unable to post in cash from his own resources. Higher bail than that is either a jail sentence or a requirement that people patronize the bail bond industry.
If you are so concerned about more crime during the interim between arrest and trial, then you should be pushing for speedier trials, not higher bail.
15
If the story doesn't say anything about whether the overall rate that crimes are committed (not charged) in Philadelphia is going up or down as a result of these changes, the author isn't really doing their job.
11
I am an anti-partisan. I very much oppose most of the social and economic initiatives of self-proclaimed "progressives". I don't think they and most of their social and economic initiatives really are progressive at all.
However, Krasner's criminal justice reforms are ones I have enthusiastically supported for decades. They would give real meaning to our Constitutionally protected freedoms. Those freedoms have not really existed because police can and do violate them with impunity, even to the extent of murder by police.
I wish Krasner success and luck. He will certainly need a lot of the latter.
3
“ … Krasner began his address in Spanish. He described how Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had been lying in wait at Philadelphia courthouses, snatching undocumented immigrants outside proceedings unrelated to citizenship.”
Our Constitution assigns the matter of immigration to the federal government. Krasner is a city D.A. He should not interfere with federal immigration agents who are carrying out our immigration laws.
11
@ann Then, it's OK with you for victims of crime and witnesses to crime just stay away?
By a show of hands, half of the 80 students in the packed lecture hall said they wanted to go into public-interest law or become public defenders.
I hope they stay true to their desires. Unfortunately at my alma mater, it has become apparent that today's "lawyers in waiting" have drunk the Harvard Law absinthe, and yearn for the big bucks merging corporations, throwing people out of work, and defending white collar criminals. It wasn't that way 50 years ago.
4
Two years ago, the NYT designated Dannel Malloy "the most progressive governor in America." Fast-forward to today: he is the Least Popular governor in America, so unpopular he may drag down the Democrat candidate to be his successor, despite a growing blue wave in the country. Now NYT has ordained Krasner the most progressive D.A. in America.
Based on the article, the two results are likely to be similar. (In CT, 50% of early-release prisoners are re-arrested within two years.)
7
I think Christopher Lee is one very talented photographer.
His images are singularly striking.
5
You really believe not prosecuting thefts of $300 or $400 is going to have a positive impact? I’m not so sure. The no charge for simple possession stuff is a good and rational idea.
The people dismantling ‘broken windows’ may regret it 20yrs from now when the full impact is clear.
Look at SF. If you want that to be the model, then have at it I guess.
14
@Ronald Klein In San Francisco property crimes have soared. Numerous cars are vandalized and robbed because the perpetrators know that there is no consequences to an arrest. In short, San Francisco demonstrates why broken window policing probably is a good idea.
13
Seattle shows both sides of the law. Go easy on broken windows and ‘minor’ burglary? Check how high we rank nationally on auto theft and auto vandalism. Have you car driven over a bank into the woods just for the heck of it! Watch an adult walk up to a car window with a handful of ceramic pellets, a soft falling sounds of small pieces of glass, a quickly opening of car door and ransacking, and gone. Not a drug addict. Not homeless, Not mentally disturbed.
Watch the middle 30s men selling on the bus stops downtown selling their shoplifted goods; be standing on one leg and two crutches at the third and Pine bus stop and have a ~ 240lb 6’4” man in his early 40s slowly back into you to distract and intimidate you as a small, wiry man tries to pick your pocket, and quietly ask him if he and his partner want to die and know you can do it, but the scared ladies around you know they do not yet have that knowledge and skill and it will again being happening to them. Or that pair will get on the bus and get off behind them on the south end.
Police likely should rotate from hard street to schools and parks so that not everyone seems a perp and rehab is often best by ‘officer friendly’ who is 286 lb and a pro villain wrestler on the side. And who cares yet is careful about what he ignores.
But God help him if he investigates sexual assault or pimping of underage youth by the rich or famous or the tourist industry. Judge Little was not alone. Underage sex of boys and girls goes withit
1
The cities with the some of the highest crime rates are tied to progressive DA's. Listening to their diatribe, you get the sense that they truly believe that criminals, especially violent ones, just need a hug and some compassion. Meanwhile the crime rates explode in their cities, whether it's Chicago, Baltimore, or SF. Juvenile justice reform in Santa Clara County CA, has lead to less juveniles in custody, but has lead to an explosion in crimes committed by youth offenders. Burglaries, auto thefts, robberies, assaults, are climbing and still these same offenders are released back to the communities to re-offend.
Compassion has a place in our system. That compassion needs to lie with the court, before a judge, who has heard the case and understands the issues. It does not need to be placed in the DA's Office where the politics of the moment will prevent offenders from being prosecuted and deny victims their day in court.
21
@Mike There needs to be more compassion for crime VICTIMS.
9
Without confronting the source of the problem- Zero Tolerance drug prohibition, with its side effect of creating an widespread illicit drugs trade that's created unprecedented opportunities for criminal careers and illegal profiteering- efforts to reverse mass incarceration are simply trimming around the edges.
Attempts to address the phenomenon of drug addiction with treatment are insufficient to grappling with the criminality, and actively hampered by the requirement for addicts to rely on illicit sources of supply; simply decriminalizing drug possession by users doesn't address the problems of the political economy of the illicit markets, either. The array of 'iatrogenic' problems resulting from turning over a lucrative monopoly on the supply of a wide array of forbidden drugs to career criminals are much more serious than the harms of drug abuse and addiction in and of themselves.
Only legalization can undercut the economic underpinning of the criminal control of the trade effectively. Although I note that there continues to be an undercurrent of support by NYT comment writers for the Death Squad approach to suppressing the illicit trade- because the resort to totalitarian solutions as a response to failure has always been implicit in the premises of the Drug War. It's the inevitable direction of the paradigm.
2
I am conflicted on the one hand I don't want minor crimes with Marijuana prosecuted but murder and theft I want prosecuted to the fullest extent. Sean Schellenger was stabbed in Rittenhouse and his accuser is being charged with 3rd degree murder. It seems like Krasner is going soft on Michael White. I will withhold final judgement till more evidence is revealed but something seems off with the charges. There is no excuse for stabbing someone in the back. None.
17
@Kiran
There certainly is if you take the time to research the case. I think you have much homework to do.
1
@Kiran
Except it seems Schellenger lunged at him first.
1
@Kiran
Dear Kiran, Read today's Inquirer. Sean Schellenger physically attacked Michael White before White stabbed him. In such an encounter, third-degree murder is the most likely charge. (Google first- and second-degree murder definitions, and you'll see why.) Over-indicting has been a real problem here for years, and it is arguably a cause of our high crime rates (because sending people to prison for long terms is the best way to produce repeating criminals).
This man is a true hero.The only way to dismantle the police state we live in is from the inside out.
10
I look forward to the Times’s review of the success or failure (as measured by changes in crime rates) of this new DA after a year or two.
16
@Douglas haha....
1
DA Krasner continues to persecute so-called criminals. The only way to end crime and end mass incarceration is to refuse to prosecute the Black and Brown. The great good is to even the scales of Justice. Prosecution hurts Black and Brown people, their families and their neighborhoods. Cops and prosecutors never did anything to help The People.
2
@Fred. I applaud your sentiment, but the perspective of those living in Kensington, for example (described by the NYTimes as a WalMart for heroin) might differ from those of someone living in Bryn Mawr and the MainLine. Residents of those communities, incluidng the Black and Brown, are victims also. Bringing safety and stability is the challenge.
2
You go Larry Krasner. You will go down in history.
Withholding exculpatory evidence that could exonerate an innocent man, branding people with a criminal record for possessing a miniscule amount of marijuana, and meting out harsh sentences (which will likely only further harden defendants) is NOT in the interest of justice. These policies have been empirically proven to NOT reduce crime.
Now is the time for radical and extreme change to an extreme problem.
It is time for liberal prosecutors to undo the damage that decades of obscenely conservative prosecutors have done.
12
When I moved to Philadelphia in 1980 the then current joke about the police was "How does a Philly cop get a cat out of a tree? With a 9 millimeter . . ." The same joke still draws a laugh today.
Krasner may be a step in the right direction, but the cops on the beat still rule the street. They act mostly like the police is just another gang, but bigger, tougher, and with the ability to put people in prison.
Nobody wants criminals to rule the street, but we've got to find an alternative to extra-judicial justice meted out by cops and mass incarceration.
13
I live in Philly, in one of those neighborhoods ringing Center City. I'm not seeing the increase in crime that other comments say--it's all anecdotal anyway. I voted for Krasner, and I still support him, especially his relationships with the activists and organizers who helped elect him. The dominant culture of Philly is deeply committed to not changing. The people who have been more connected to power are not happy with folks trying to correct the cronyism, racism, and city-sponsored violence on poor communities. They are loud but not the majority. We will continue to elect reformers.
21
@Erica, here’s an anecdote you can quickly dismiss. For your reference, I live in Washington Square West, since relative proximity to Center City is somehow germane to your point. About two months ago, I was at home with my young children when my husband was violently attacked about 10 feet from our home in broad daylight. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. The police and DA’s office declined to pursue charges despite substantial evidence. Krasner has given a carte blanche to all miscreants to act with impunity.
Perhaps you can advise the widow of Mr. Grandzol that his brutal murder in front of his own children was simply an anecdote, an aberration, and that his assailants were merely products of a broken system. I’m sure your roster of reformers will continue to gloss over the real issues that created this broken system, and will also continue to avoid tackling the underlying socioeconomic issues that drive Philadelphia’s rising poverty and crime that spans multiple generations.
20
@Ted Pikul @Erica
Facts do matter. I also searched online for statistics on Philly crime.
Sorry, Ted, but it appears to be a matter of perception in your case and some other Philly commenters who claim increases and wish to attribute to Krasner. I agree with Erica that many locals do fear change.
Looking at those charts YOU provided show
violent and property crime are ACTUALLY DOWN for 2017 from the prior year, 2016 . They have not published stats to indicate any changes for 2018 yet.
Additionally, earlier today I referred to the DOJ website and provided the link which shows crimes decreasedover the period of 2010 thru 2014.
4
@Ted Pikul
The stats that you refer to show homicide going up but other violent crimes going down, some of them considerably. So don't accuse others of not knowing what they are talking about without informing yourself better.
Good, America should do more to reduce the prison population. Especially for nonsense like marijuana possession, when billionaires can go on podcasts and light up but the poor are hauled into court to have their lives ruined.
12
Funny how the Times is concurrently running articles about how the right's focus Soro's influence on american politics is a "conspiracy theory", while also admitting that he has been focused on meddling with local elections of prosecutors.
9
@Texas1836 The assertion that Soros is funding things like the 5000-person march to the Mexican border is conspiracy theory because there's no evidence to support it. Soros' donations to liberal causes are public record--all donations to political campaigns of either party are. If that's 'meddling' then so is the Koch brothers' donation of billions to conservative campaigns.
@Texas1836 Then you agree that contributions from conservative gazillionaires is also meddling, right?
"We like to take things slowly...We like to figure out what the problems are, so we can work out the kinks." More like so we can reactively figure out how to undermine any reformer. Having lived in Philadelphia for years (and really enjoyed it), I heard more than once that it was the Quaker history that made the city so conservative, despite it's Dem politics, and resistant to reform.
Whether in education, politics, or business, Philadelphia is a clubby town where the interconnection of unions, cops, Eds and Meds, a few large businesses (e.g. Comcast) plus the archaic governance model of councilmanic prerogative conspire to keep the status quo. Here's hoping Krasner and his team can keep pushing against the Philadelphia tide to make the necessary changes this city needs so that all of its citizens can succeed.
8
After reading the article and comments from fellow readers it is no surprise to me that the message of the article has been missed. It’s not about the current DA, whether in Philadelphia or any other city seeking reform. It’s about the loss of the moral and judicial compass of the legal agencies that are to protect all equally.
Police officers’ loss discretion and courts imposing mandated minimums, plea bargains that label felons for life, a profitable bail system and money that can be redirected away from prisons are all part of this industrial complex that targets the poor and people of color.
22
@LBQNY If POC don't want to be caught up in the "criminal justice syste", maybe they could avoid committing crimes that DO harm others? Just a suggestion.
10
colonizer
I would expect the long term results of this would be that the sort of crimes (mostly violent) that lead to substantial increase in incarceration since 1980 will not decrease, that the lives of normal, hardworking folks in high crime areas will get worse, and this guy will be teaching/writing/talking about these great "ideas" from some progressive echo chamber law school in a few years. Mission accomplished.
Meanwhile, West Philly sinks deeper into decline.
23
@Bobby D Bingo! Brazilians have a LOT more common sense than Americans, it seems.
@Bobby D Did you miss the part at the beginning of the article that mentions Philadelphia has the highest rate of incarceration of all out large cities. So, maybe continuing along that path isn't the best idea?
1
@Bobby D
Except they're not changing the approach to violent crime. Violent crime prosecutions are staying exactly the same. They're changing their approach to the sort of extremely minor, nonviolent crimes like drug possession without intent to sell that can be addressed by charging at the municipal level as a forfeiture.
Also I don't know where you're getting your numbers on violent crime incarceration, unless you're talking specifically about Philadelphia, for which I have no specific numbers. But arrests for violent crime in the U.S. have been dropping since 1991. (Source: https://www.nap.edu/read/18613/chapter/4#66)
1
Criminal should expect that the DA be fair and holds the police and prosecutors to the highest standards but his job is not be the single extra-legislative arbiter of the truth, especially when his lens of operating is that criminals are more important than victims. The Baltimore DA has done this exact dance sending a clear and unambiguous message to criminals that they can get away with literally murder and to police that they should be fearful of prosecution for doing their job. The result, 500 open police jobs, a soaring and consistent murder rate and a city deep in crisis. If Krasner wants to "reform" the laws and practices join the legislature.
15
@Chris
The situation in Baltimore isn't nearly as simple as you make it out to be https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-ninth-officer-indicted-20171114-story.html
@Chris 500 open police jpbs? Well, the NERVE of the city of Baltimore to require police officers to follow procedures!
It seems Brazilians have more common sense and grasp on reality than many Americans, particularly NYT readers. You all should be sure to read Mr. Edsel's excellent column today, and pay specially attention to the poem titled "the Snake". Read that poem more than once, and think about it, please.
4
In Boston we're on the verge of electing a DA with similar positions, after a primary election in which pretty much the same issues came up. I'm sure every city is different, but I hope the new DA and her people will be able to learn something from reading this terrific piece of reporting.
8
@dschulen
Since the Red Sox just won the World Series, why not just let all in jail go?
3
@Ken Oh please. The people released after the Eagles win were all in on marijuana possession.
Why waste taxpayer dollars holding people participating in something that's completely legal in 9 other states and DC, as well as medicinally legal in many others?
14
While I agree with that facets of the criminal justice system need reform, the article seems to simply triumph less people in jail. I live in Philadelphia and am seeing quality of life crimes increase - theft, muggings, vandalism, and car break ins. The pendulum has swung so far the other way that there are no consequences. The police are conflicted as they don't want to waste time enforcing the law if nothing happens. of course, this is all compounded by extreme poverty combined with a resurgent center city and surrounding gentrifying neighborhoods rich with targets. Still, I think there is a better middle ground here that perhaps we will gravitate to when Krasner is gone.
36
@mcs
An excellent point. We do need much reform cross the country from federal to local levels. Prosecutors have too much power and, with wiling legislators in ever more laws (often at the behest of advocates), multiple charges are often piled up against defendants for one act, forcing plea bargains in often unjust ways. And prosecutorial misconduct often goes unpunished even when the victims languish in prison.
But we need to do that in a way that does not lead to letting criminals off scot free for committing crimes...too often the pendulum swings too far the other way, too!
14
@mcs
Agreed. I own a home and live part-time in Philly and see the same thing you are writing about. The crime rate is horrible in the gentrifying neighborhoods, and the police at our neighborhood community meetings have flat out acknowledged their hands are tied due to the current climate Krasner has initiated. It seems as though the goal is absolutely to keep people out of jail, no matter what. I personally have experienced significant property damage from a hit and run driver who left his identification behind. I was told since it was only property and not personal injury, the DA's office would not be pursuing the case. My neighbor was one of the prosecutors fired immediately after Krasner took office. I, for one, will be glad when he's gone. And by the way, I voted for him.
15
@mcs
I'm also in Philadelphia. Where did you find this information on crime increases? I cannot find any info from City or State PDs that identify annual crime rates in Philadelphia.
According to DOJ Uniform Crime Reports, the levels of both violent and property crime have decreased from 2010- 2014 (which is the latest year they show). Can you provide a link showing increases from 2014 to the present?
https://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/Local/
Perhaps the increase you are observing is specific to your neighborhood? Or maybe you just have a 'feeling'? Or maybe you've been watching too many Scott Wagner ads?
Without evidence that there is an overall citywide increase in property crime ,I have to wonder what the purpose of your post might be.
9
Huh? "Krasner, without political or bureaucratic experience, could set policy, but he needed his assistant D.A.s to carry it out daily in the grind of the city’s courtrooms. “It only comes out later that people in this office have not followed my policies for months,” Krasner told me. So in January, on his fourth day in office, Krasner fired 30 of his prosecutors without warning."
How could people not be following his policies for "months" on his fourth day in office?
27
@DWalker It's not written clearly, but Krasner said that to explain his reasoning to fire 30 people on his fourth day in office.
1
@DWalker
As a former prosecutor of 10 years in a very large DA’s office, the answer to your question is: very easily when the many of the trial assistants and their supervisors lie about or conceal (same thing) what they are doing. Arrogant blind self-righteousness and win at any cost are the two biggest hazards for prosecutors, especially when their bosses are only concerned with their conviction rates – i.e. looking good is put above doing good. The ultimate blame is on the mainstream media which judge prosecutors on their conviction rate, not on their carefulness with the facts.
Most prosecutors I knew wanted justice, but often got sidetracked by the pressure to win. How do you tell people who have learned this as a way of life they have been wrong for years? You could start with the damage done to innocent lives. That is why conviction review units have been initiated in some jurisdictions. But these units are made up of prosecutors – a case of the foxes guarding the henhouse.
5
Krasner is speaking hypothetically; the firings were preemptive to prevent the scenario he described.
3
Larry Krasner describing some fellow prosecutors as being retributive and political. Engaging in racism and classism, picking on the poor... that doesn't sound like a good recruiting tactic. If you want the best you may need to sugar coat the truth a little. Aside from his horrible sales pitch Krasner seems like a good progressive D.A. I never liked the whole "tough on crime" rubbish. The mandatory minimum sentencing laws for minor possession charges are the worst. I hope Larry success in his push towards criminal justice reform in Phili.
7
@Jay So you want law abiding citizens to be punished when predators invade their homes, carjack their automobiles, mug and bludgeon them on the streets. That's your choice, and the choice liberals and Philly voters have made. It seems Brazilians have more common sense and a better grasp on reality than some Americans. Please read Mr. Edsel's excellent column today, paying particular attention to the poem called "the Snake". Read that poem over several times, and think about it.
1
@me So you're saying it's an either-or situation, that being fair and accountable means ignoring all crime, right? Because there's no such thing as balance?
1
“Kind to the cruel, cruel to the kind.”
7
Thanks for the great review of the reforms in Philly. Justice sure, with mercy. When law enforcement works for everyone's wellbeing, resources can be better focused on bringing justice to society's avowed free-riders while teaching the misguided and accidental free-riders to choose responsible citizenship. Philly will be better for it and I'll come spend good money there in support of the city's economy.
16
@ PK Law enforcement should work to protect law abiding citizens, NOT to look the other way while vicious predators murder them. Shameful to turn Philly into Detroit.
11
@me No changes have been made to murder charges in Philadelphia. Detroit was not mentioned in this article, and is doing pretty well lately from what I read.
Philly has never been better.
4
@David I would bet that Philly was better in the 40's and 50's
1