The City of Philadelphia on the issue of criminal justice is pursuing an activist-like, pro-reform agenda, so in the office of the District Attorney should be someone who won’t try and adapt to that, but whose body of work is rooted in the advocacy of others, reforms of systems and obtaining justice for the least of these.
In other words, Philadelphia needs Mr. Larry Krasner, a celebrated civil rights defense lawyer, as its next District Attorney, because the city via its MacArthur Foundation justice reform award is committed to reducing its prison population by 34 percent over three years, not incarcerating non-violent offenders, seeking alternatives to cash bail and expanding diversion programs, and so is Mr. Krasner.
Justice is the theme the City of Philadelphia now aims to promote and Mr. Krasner, whose campaign message is “Justice Makes Us Safer,” would make a great partner in that effort. What’s more, Mr. Krasner, who has been endorsed by the lion’s share of the progressive justice community, has an incomparable record of challenging the system and winning; in fact, to call the other candidates Mr. Krasner’s competitors, would be to engage in a false equivalence.
Now, there’s an argument in the public that Mr. Krasner isn’t experienced enough to run the office. But that argument is grounded in the untrue notion that the job of the District Attorney is exclusively to prosecute the guilty. Even Mr. Seth Williams, the disgraced Philadelphia District Attorney who’s been indicted on multiple counts of corruption, said the job is about prosecuting the guilty and protecting the innocent; the latter is where Mr. Krasner excels – the first time I met Mr. Krasner was ahead of the 2016 Democratic National Convention when he assembled a cohort of lawyers at his Center City Philadelphia law firm to ensure protesters who were arrested for exercising their First Amendment would have access to legal representation – and the former won’t be that that steep of a learning curve for him, yet it wouldn’t matter much anyway, because the District Attorney oversees a staff of prosecutors more so than prosecuting cases themselves.
Moreover, Mr. Krasner has experience in the realm that the City is aiming towards: placing a higher premium on civil rights and a more just, humane and less racist approach to the law and criminal justice. As the chief law enforcement officer, Mr. Krasner will be a standard-bearer of justice in way Mr. Williams wasn’t, and a resister of the Trump administration in a manner that the current Mayor of Philadelphia is.
In fact, it was the appointment of Mr. Jeff Sessions to Attorney General that called Mr. Krasner into action. He knew at the local level there needed to be a fighter who would, at the very least, resist the war on drugs and the culture of Gestapo policing, like stop-and-frisk.
Philadelphia right now needs a fighter, someone who will stand up the bullies in Washington D.C., Harrisburg and elsewhere. Philadelphia government needs not just an activist agenda, but someone who can see it through and draw on past experiences to inform future decisions. After eight years of Mr. Williams in the DA’s office, Philadelphia needs a fresh start with someone who has people, not another position, in mind. In this moment, Philadelphia doesn’t need a self-serving bureaucrat in the District Attorney’s office, but a selfless freedom fighter who won’t just pursue justice, but who understand that justice, indeed, makes us safer.
And, because Mr. Krasner is seeking a job, his references matter, too.
The amount of prominent and respected community leaders who have come out to not just stand with Mr. Krasner, but offer testimonial to how he’s impacted their life, is unmatched on the campaign trail. From Mr. Asa Khalif of Black Lives Matter Movement Pennsylvania to City Councilwoman at-Large Mrs. Helen Gym, and everyone in between, the campaign of Mr. Krasner’s has proven to be a movement.
If a qualified attorney can energize and unite the Philadelphia justice community, why wouldn’t we want that person in the District Attorney’s Office to help usher in reforms, particularly when a common complaint is that community is never at the table? Mr. Krasner as District Attorney will offer the greatest chance for community involvement at the policy development level.
After listening to all the candidates, and given my understanding of the criminal in-justice issues that plague the City, I believe Mr. Krasner should be the next District Attorney of Philadelphia. Not because he needs the job, but because the job desperately needs him.
Thanks for reading! Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® and I’m Drumming for Justice!™
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Photo courtesy of the author.