The Latest
The latest about Larry Krasner's campaign for progressive reform in Philadelphia
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office was put on trial Thursday morning by the eight candidates — seven Democrats, one Republican — seeking to lead the scandal-plagued office. ...The most notable clash came between a candidate with no ties to the District Attorney’s Office, civil rights lawyer Lawrence Krasner, and the candidate with the most recent ties to the office, former First Assistant District Attorney Tariq El-Shabazz.
PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY
“The FOP endorsed Donald Trump, so of course they endorsed Rich Negrín. As they say on Sesame Street, two of these things belong together,” said Lawrence Krasner, a civil rights attorney who touts himself as the most progressive DA candidate among the seven contenders. “[Negrín] has two characteristics that belong to John McNesby, though not necessarily to the FOP membership. One, he’s authoritarian … two, he’s no reformer in a city that badly needs reform.”
THE PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE (COLUMN)
I initially didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of endorsing a white guy for the top elected law enforcement position in a city that’s nearly 50 percent Black.
But Larry’s no ordinary white guy. Quite the contrary, he’s the Blackest white guy I know. When it comes to candidates for political office, they shouldn’t tell the Black community what they’re gonna do for us. Instead, they should show us what they’ve already done. And Larry’s done a lot. A whole lot.
Here are three (of numerous) reasons why the Black community should vote for him:
The District Attorney’s first priority is providing equal justice for all, regardless of skin color. It’s just as true when it comes to the color of a uniform.
Vice journalist Daniel Denvir’s story, Why Cops Don’t Get Charged When They Lie, clearly outlines why the District Attorney’s Office must be taken in a new direction. While there are excellent attorneys in that office, there is also a culture that allows a small number of Philadelphia police officers to deprive the people of our city of their right to equal justice and to tarnish the majority of officers who uphold their oath to defend the Constitution and faithfully serve the public.
Mr. Denvir’s story also clearly demonstrates that there are officers who break the so-called ‘Blue Wall of Silence’ by doing the right thing. They are to be commended. The District Attorney’s Office needs to have their back. The silence (and sometimes the word) of my fellow candidates on this issue is revealing.
I have been pursuing Section 1983 lawsuits against police for police abuse, corruption, and false convictions for over 30 years. District Attorneys work under an ethical obligation to seek justice, and a constitutional limitation that requires disclosing exculpatory information (e.g. prior deception by witnesses that is known to the prosecutor).
If I am elected District Attorney, officers who lie in police paperwork and those who lie under oath would be disqualified from testifying.
THE JEWISH EXPONENT
“I want to be DA because I’ve been in the criminal court system and doing civil rights primarily for poor people for 30 years and believe the DA’s office has gone drastically in the wrong direction for 30 years,” Krasner said. “In 2014, Philadelphia had the highest homicide rate of the 10 largest cities and also had the highest poverty rate. So you have people sitting in jail four times longer than average, and all those mass incarcerations are expenses draining public education,” he said.
THE PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE
District Attorney candidate Larry Krasner believes his candidacy isn’t about him.
“I think the excitement is really about the ideas,” he said in a recent interview with The Tribune. “My background gives those ideas credibility, because there are people who talk the talk and there are people who walk the walk.”
U.S Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a notorious racist, continues to demean his office — now by untruthfulness while under oath. With a wildly authoritarian President, AG Sessions is exacerbating the problem.
Every day it becomes clearer that local offices, including District Attorney offices, need to be filled with real progressives whose careers demonstrate their willingness to resist government's unjust and un-American exercise of power. The law must apply equally to everyone, from the U.S. Attorney General to local police and suspects. This the definition of justice, and justice makes us safer.
This hate crime occurred in Philadelphia a few days after a similar, anti-Semitic attack on the cemetery in St. Louis where my grandparents, two Russian Jewish immigrants who came to the U.S. by boat in the early 1900's, are buried.
Criminals on the "alt-right" (a word that anti-Semites like to hide behind these days): Philadelphians of good will are watching. So is the whole world. In the Trump era, Philadelphia's District Attorney will need to resist — resist hate, resist hate crimes, and resist the Trump administration's attacks on free speech and the free press.
As a civil rights lawyer known for over 25 years of defending protest and our First Amendment, my ability to vigorously protect free speech is clear. As a civil and criminal attorney known for 30 years of knocking down bullies to protect the underdog, my ability to vigorously prosecute hate crimes is even clearer. Join me.
Safety is not achieved by abandoning rights, as old school law enforcement loves to claim (consistent with their agenda of eliminating individual rights). The choice between safety and rights is and always has been false.
Safety is achieved through justice, which means honoring individual rights. It's both—safety and justice, not 'either safety or justice'. Here, Philadelphia's low homicide investigation clearance rates directly result from distrust between police and the neighborhoods they protect—neighbors whose rights have been disregarded too often by law enforcement.
THE PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE
One District Attorney candidate, who immediately gained the support of activist and attorney Michael Coard, has dedicated much of his career as an attorney to giving back and helping others. ...He notably represented Askia Sabur in a police brutality case in which Philadelphia Police Officers were videotaped beating Sabur, who was charged with resisting arrest and assault. Sabur was cleared on all charges.
Krasner said his study of the U.S. Constitution through his civil rights work will help him bring the necessary change to the D.A.’s office.
