It’s time to stand up for law and order in Pennsylvania.
It’s time to stand up for law and order in Pennsylvania.
A cross the country, Soros-funded — and so-called progressive — district attorneys have refused to enforce criminal laws on the books designed to protect the public. They are using a radical prosecutorial ideology to justify this refusal and turn our nation’s major cities into havens of unchecked violent chaos where the law means nothing.
In Philadelphia, the nation’s sixth-largest city, this problem started four years ago with the election of District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Since his election in 2017, according to the Philadelphia Police Department, crime in Philadelphia has only increased, creating a public image of Philadelphia as a place of unsafe streets, crime, and violence. No longer the City of Brotherly Love that is a global tourist location, Pennsylvania’s economic engine, and the birthplace of our freedoms, Philadelphia now ranks as one of the most dangerous cities in the nation.
To put it plainly: Philadelphia’s District Attorney Larry Krasner has shown he is nothing short of a pro-criminal district attorney who puts more effort into putting offenders back on the streets than in enforcing Pennsylvania’s tough-on-crime laws.
In fact, immediately upon taking office, Krasner sent a memo to prosecuting attorneys within his office outlining that certain offenses will not be charged, crimes will not be prosecuted, and that he favors preference for extreme leniency over sound enforcement of the law.
The result of Krasner’s prosecutorial philosophy has been disastrous; and after a horrific year in Philadelphia for violent crime in 2021, 2022 is proving even worse.
According to the Philadelphia Police Department, through June 12, 2022, violent crime in Philadelphia has increased 7 percent over this time last year. Property crime has increased almost 28 percent. Total crime has increased more than 23 percent.
When it comes to gun crimes, the numbers are equally shocking. The number of shooting incidents in Philadelphia is up over 7 percent, and the number of shooting victims is up almost 5 percent over last year.
Faced with this stark increase in crime, what was the district attorney’s response? Krasner’s office said the following in the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this year: “We do not believe that arresting people and convicting them for illegal gun possession is a viable strategy to reduce shootings.”
This soft-on-crime position has had a negative impact within the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. It is said to be in “disarray,” with an atmosphere of low morale and inexperience that makes it even more difficult for the laws to be properly enforced.
City leaders have had enough.
In the wake of the tragic shooting on South Street, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney said:
Our police officers are doing their jobs. They’re in harm’s way. They are out there doing their jobs every single day, and they are taking guns out of criminals’ hands. Those criminals need to go to jail. They need to be detained. . . . Unless we do it, they are going to think there is no penalty for their actions and they are going to continue to carry guns.
Former mayor Michael Nutter, in an op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer last year, also said that change is in order:
[Krasner] should commit to locking them up for carrying illegal weapons or shooting people. If Krasner does not have the fortitude or the guts to carry out those duties, he should resign and turn things over to someone who is not trying to sell Philadelphians on the false choice of having either public safety or police reform. Philadelphians can have — and deserve — both.
As state lawmakers, we think the problem of unchecked lawlessness in Philadelphia is an issue of statewide concern.
After the South Street shooting in early June, Philadelphia businesses have started to seriously consider leaving the city for safer jurisdictions. When Pennsylvania’s major economic engine starts taking hits because of a prosecutorial philosophy, that is a problem that affects the entire Commonwealth.
On top of that, contrary to Krasner’s belief, Philadelphians are Pennsylvanians who deserve to have tough-on-crime laws enforced to protect their safety. State government passed these laws for the benefit of the people of Pennsylvania. If a rogue district attorney will not enforce them, the problem could easily spread to other jurisdictions in the state.
Since Krasner will not stand up for the people of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in enforcing the laws already on the books to keep people safe, we will.
That is why, last week, we announced that we’re beginning impeachment proceedings against District Attorney Krasner.
Not only has he been willfully derelict in his duty to enforce the law, but, as we have laid out, the crime crisis in Philadelphia is directly attributable to him.
While the people of San Francisco recently exercised their recall capabilities to oust Soros-funded progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin from office, Pennsylvania has no recall provision.
Impeachment is one of the few limited options afforded to Pennsylvanians who want to seek redress for the wrongs committed against them.
As part of our effort, we recently launched a website — stopkrasner.com — where people can share their stories of crime in Philadelphia. The submissions thus far have been astounding and have confirmed what we already knew: Pennsylvanians in Philadelphia are subjected to crime committed by people Krasner has pridefully put back on the streets in defiance of our laws.
With the rest of the country standing up for themselves and saying enough is enough with these soft-on-crime prosecutors, we will not sit idly by. We will not allow Philadelphia’s crime crisis to go on unchecked.
Pennsylvanians living in Philadelphia deserve to have the laws enforced to protect them. Victims deserve a voice and a district attorney who will stand up for them. Since Larry Krasner is doing neither of those things, we are initiating impeachment proceedings against him and will ensure that he is held accountable.
In the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Josh Kail, first elected in 2018, represents portions of Beaver and Washington Counties; Torren Ecker, first elected in 2018, represents portions of Adams and Cumberland Counties; Tim O’Neal, first elected in 2018, represents portions of Washington County; Martina White, first elected in 2015, represents portions of Philadelphia.