Philadelphia's new district attorney fired 31 staffers Friday as part of a promised shakeup of an office tarnished by scandal.

DA Larry Krasner, 56, made the personnel moves on only his fourth day on the job.

Spokesman Ben Waxman said the changes shouldn’t be surprising, given that Krasner, a longtime civil rights lawyer, campaigned on a promise to clean up the DA’s office, which he previously called "off the rails," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

“Reorganization and a change in some key personnel are necessary to fulfill that promise,” Waxman said.


Krasner's campaign platform included reducing incarceration rates, ending cash bail and favoring lighter punishments for gun and drug offenders.

His disgraced predecessor, Seth Williams, was sentenced to five years in prison for accepting bribes.

Assistant DAs fired Friday included some veterans of the office.

The head of the Republican Party of Philadelphia said the firings were “what we might expect from a defense attorney who made a career out of suing the police. Krasner places victims on the back burner from day one.”

“Change is never easy," spokesman Waxner said. "But DA Krasner was given a clear mandate from the voters for transformational change.”

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Krasner's campaign platform included reducing incarceration rates, ending cash bail and favoring lighter punishments for gun and drug offenders.

Holy fuck, that's what voters want? Are they purposely trying to further ruin their city?

quote:

Krasner's campaign platform included reducing incarceration rates, ending cash bail and favoring lighter punishments for gun and drug offenders.

His disgraced predecessor, Seth Williams, was sentenced to five years in prison for accepting bribes.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Philly was already a lost cause - nothing to see here.

A crook went out the back door, a naive idealistic lefty (is he a crook too) came in the front door.
What could go wrong?

Maybe, just maybe, we need to build that wall in some different locations to begin with; Philly, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore. Just saying.

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Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Krasner's campaign platform included reducing incarceration rates, ending cash bail and favoring lighter punishments for gun and drug offenders.

Holy fuck, that's what voters want? Are they purposely trying to further ruin their city?

Why even have a DA office. Just put a time out chair in an empty office in the court house. Put a sign on the chair that says sit for as long as you think you were bad.

"This surprises me," said nobody.

Many (most?) of the those initiated into the Loyal Order of the Boot were career prosecutors who had no connection whatsoever with good ol' Rufus Seth Williams. If you're an actual communist who wants fundamental change, start by firing the experienced help, the people who somehow make murder prosecutions work in a city where witnesses simply don't cooperate.

Full-on Detroit in 3... 2...

And then drive them into private practice as defense lawyers. Somebody's jealous of Baltimore.

Sometimes, you gotta hit rock bottom in order to gain some perspective on what a shit-show looks like. Looks like the people of Philadelphia will get to experience that first-hand.

Another city attempting the hug-a-thug method.... let's see how it works out for them...

Around the turn of the century 15 of the 16 Philly plumbing inspectors were fired. Some kind of FBI investigation. I did not pay too much attention but remember getting an inspection from the remaining inspector the next year. He conspicuously kept two arm-lengths away from me at all times.

_{In 2003, in one of my cases, a federal jury convicted the entire plumbing-inspection department, except for one inspector, at the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections for extorting money from plumbers. - Amy Kurland}

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Krasner's campaign platform included reducing incarceration rates, ending cash bail and favoring lighter punishments for gun and drug offenders.

Holy fuck, that's what voters want? Are they purposely trying to further ruin their city?

I don't live there, but I'm sure it's what they think they want.

Chidelphia?

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Krasner's campaign platform included reducing incarceration rates, ending cash bail and favoring lighter punishments for gun and drug offenders.

Holy fuck, that's what voters want? Are they purposely trying to further ruin their city?

That will not motivate the police.

The story says the new guy was elected. The incumbent was, ahhh, ineligible.

The old guy may have been so busy counting cash that he let the culture deteriorate. Maybe the old wood had to be cleaned out for new growth.

If the locals resist, don’t support, respectable capable, honest law enforcement, they will not have it and may come to regret it.

Philadelphia Murder Rate Up 20 Percent, Police Say
"“The highest motive we’re seeing is arguments between people … which can be difficult to anticipate."

City of Brotherly Love’s crime rate decried

http://www.phillytrib.com/news...4b-c8493e0e0028.html

When it turns into Baltimore and they start demanding more police involvement, this guy will have his thumb up his butt.

So is he firing the good apples or the bad apples? Given this is Philly . . . .

I remember reading about this guy during the election. He's a hard core communist public defender who pledged to destroy the DA's office. He's following thru on that promise.

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Originally posted by Scoutmaster:
So is he firing the good apples or the bad apples? Given this is Philly . . . .

The last elected DA, Rufus "Seth" williams (also known as 75926-066) came and went during the tenure of MOST of the "firees." The crowd that was fired were mostly senior, experienced prosecutors, including about half of the Homicide unit. Some of the other victims of the purge included unlikely targets, including someone who helped spearhead the Post-Conviction Review Unit (yes, a unit that actually exonerated some wrongly-convicted) and the folks working major narctocs. One of the most prominent ones was likely seen as tainted because he-- gasp!-- was the lead prosecutor in a bunch of death penalty matters, an outcome the new DA is vehemently against.

He fired entire "trial teams" for murder cases that are coming to in days/weeks. This is not unlike firing your leading star between the dress rehearsal and opening night. It is almost impossible to get replacements up to speed in the time that's left, especially since they're replacements who-- by definition-- aren't experienced homicide prosecutors. Because the experienced ones are gone.

He's against death penalty, against "criminalization of drugs," against "mass incarceration," against the "prison industrial complex," against proactive policing, against... well, just against.

220-9er called him "naive." No, not naive. He knows exactly what he's doing.