Interviews

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Civil rights attorney Larry Krasner: DA's office is 'off the rails'

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THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Larry Krasner took a deep breath and paused before answering the question. How was he different from the six other progressive-leaning Democrats running for District Attorney?

“There are words and then there are things not made of air,” Krasner told the crowd at the Arch Street Methodist church in response recently. He then took aim at the other candidates, five who have worked in the District Attorney’s office and a sixth who was a judge for 21 years.

“All these other candidates have been a part of the problem,” he said. “They have done nothing to change the problem, but now all the sudden in this race, when the popular view on criminal justice has shifted...they’re the biggest reformers you’ve ever seen.”

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Meet the Civil Rights Lawyer Shaking Up the Race for Philadelphia District Attorney

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REASON

Larry Krasner, a long-time Philadelphia civil rights and criminal defense attorney, isn't your usual candidate for district attorney, but then, the race to be the city's top prosecutor has been anything but usual.

It started when Philadelphia D.A. Seth Williams—under the grim cloud of a federal corruption investigation—announced in February he wouldn't seek reelection. Since then, the sudden race to replace him has taken a remarkably reform-minded turn.

Larry Krasner: The 'un-prosecutor' candidate (AUDIO)

Larry Krasner: The 'un-prosecutor' candidate (AUDIO)

WHYY NEWSWORKS

Ask Larry Krasner, who's never worked as a prosecutor, why he's the right guy to be Philadelphia's next district attorney, and he has a ready answer.

"Because I've never been a prosecutor," he says.

There's more to it than that, but the heart of Krasner's pitch is that the ingrained culture of the district attorney's office has been so wrong-headed for so long that only someone free from its influences can bring the kind of change Philadelphia needs.

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Meet the D.A. Candidate Who’s Defended Black Lives Matter and Occupy in Court

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Meet the D.A. Candidate Who’s Defended Black Lives Matter and Occupy in Court

Larry Krasner was a defense attorney for years. Now he wants to change the system from within.

PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE

When Larry Krasner kicked off his campaign for district attorney in downtown Philadelphia in early February, more than a dozen political activists stood behind him. There were Black Lives Matter leaders, Occupy Philly alumni, and Arch Street United Methodist Church pastors, among others, almost all of whom Krasner has defended in court.

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