Philadelphia’s progressive district attorney seeks third term as shootings decline. Critics contend he’s soft on criminals | Philadelphia

This story was originally published by the Trace, a non-profit newsroom covering gun violence in America. Sign up for its newsletters here.

As Philadelphia’s district attorney, Larry Krasner, attempted to explain himself, a pensive scowl replaced the look of assured confidence usually etched on his face.

With just weeks left before the 4 November general election, political rivals and community members were questioning a key decision. In May, his office dropped kidnapping and domestic violence charges against a man who, in October, was charged with another crime: the slaying of Kada Scott, a 23-year-old former Miss Pennsylvania USA beauty pageant contestant and recent college graduate. So on 20 October, Krasner floundered through a news conference he’d called to announce that police had found Scott’s body in a shallow grave, and that Keon King, 21, had been charged with crimes related to her abduction.

“The buck stops here, that is on me,” a sullen Krasner said. “But I also believe,” he continued, “it’s a tough situation, especially domestic cases, when you have a defendant out of custody who’s going to come in and out of the courthouse doors.”

It was a convoluted explanation, one in which Krasner blamed others while also blaming himself. The moment showed uncommon vulnerability for a politician who has become one of the nation’s most prominent prosecutors, a progressive stalwart in the criminal legal reform movement.

“I will acknowledge again that we could have done better with respect to … the decisions that were made,” he said. A few days later, the city medical examiner’s office said that Scott died from a single gunshot to the head.

The revelation that Krasner failed to try King came to light just as it seemed he was cruising comfortably toward his third term. The case injected drama into an uneventful race between Krasner and Republican challenger Patrick Dugan, a retired municipal court judge who switched parties after losing the Democratic primary in May.

But Krasner has outlasted peers in other cities, and political pundits expect he’ll weather this crisis, too. While Krasner has remained in his post, progressive prosecutors who rode into office on the racial reckoning wave unleashed by police killings of unarmed Black people have fallen out of favor with voters. Krasner has one key difference: attorneys nationwide took heat for the spike in violence that followed the Covid-19 pandemic. Krasner presided over a record decrease.

“This tragedy and the way his office handled this is inexcusable,” said Larry Ceisler, a public relations executive and longtime Philadelphia political observer, referring to Scott’s slaying. “But it’s easy to look back on mistakes like this and criticize. It’s not going to make a difference in the campaign.”

‘The DA dropped the ball’

Scott’s death has stirred anger and emotion like few other crimes in recent years. More than 100 people gathered for a balloon release at the abandoned Germantown school where Scott’s remains were found. Most who spoke to the Trace there declined to discuss the political fallout, focusing instead on Scott. “Say her name, Kada Scott!” the group chanted. A man played Taps on a trumpet. Scott’s friends, and others who had never met her, gave emotional speeches and hugged before releasing white balloons into the sky.

Catherine Daniel, 62, however, was in no mood to remain silent about Krasner. “The DA dropped the ball, because this guy should not have been walking the street,” she said. “We’ve got to kick him out of there, he has to go.”

“The whole office dropped the ball. He said things are going to change moving forward,” she continued. “Why did it take this young lady to lose her life to make changes?”

Desiree Whitfield, who organized a vigil after Scott’s body was found, shared similar sentiments. “We need to blame the DA’s office because they let [King] out,” she said. “What are you going to do differently so that our beautiful, Black, educated women are not found in shallow graves?”

Krasner’s staying power

Like many of his peer progressive prosecutors, critics have accused Krasner of being “soft on crime” and prioritizing reducing the prison population at the expense of locking up violent criminals. Also like his peers, he’s aroused ire for convicting police who’ve killed people on the job.

Many Philadelphians, though, credit Krasner for helping staunch the city’s bloodshed, which peaked at 562 homicides in 2021, but is projected to be far less than half that number by year’s end. As of the last week of October, there were 190 homicides, a 9.95% reduction from this time last year.

That may help explain why Krasner remains popular, including among crime-fighting grassroots organizations, which his office and the city regularly provide with operating grants.

“He’s on the ballot, he’s our candidate, everybody is supporting him,” said retired US representative Bob Brady, who has chaired Philadelphia’s Democratic party since 1986. “People like him; they think he’s doing a good job. I think he’s getting a bad rap from people saying he’s lenient.”

David Kennedy, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, said that while it’s impossible to know how much credit a prosecutor should receive for crime reduction, those who’ve remained popular, like Krasner and Brooklyn’s DA, Eric Gonzalez, have done so by moving beyond simply voicing what they oppose.

“Krasner has, for example, been a really important part of violence prevention efforts in Philadelphia, including the group violence intervention that my office has supported,” Kennedy said. “Progressive prosecutors who have done well … have been important parts of those partnerships.”

For his part, Krasner said his critics should give him some credit. “Do they want to go back to [former DA] Ron Castille’s 500 murders, which he had one year?” he said. “Or would they like to be in a place where we’re looking at the low 200s for homicides. Obviously, I’m not OK with 200 homicides. I wish it was zero.”

Who is Larry Krasner?

Before winning his first election in November 2017, Krasner, a father of two adult sons, spent decades as a civil rights and criminal defense attorney, during which time he sued Philly’s police department for misconduct 75 times.

As DA, he has pursued what he calls a “reform agenda” that includes denouncing President Donald Trump; countering mass incarceration with alternative sentences; not seeking cash bail for some nonviolent crimes; prosecuting cops when there is evidence to do so; re-examining old cases to surface wrongful convictions; not charging for personal-use marijuana possession; not charging for most prostitution offenses; and charging minor retail thefts as summary offenses.

Krasner’s approach has earned him supporters and detractors, including state Republican lawmakers who unsuccessfully attempted to impeach and remove him from office in 2022.

That same year, San Francisco voters recalled DA Chesa Boudin. Portland, Oregon, DA Mike Schmidt received 76.6% of the vote when first elected in 2020, but was defeated during last year’s Democratic primary; Pamela Price, who in 2023 became the first Black female DA in Alameda county, which includes Oakland, California, was recalled by voters; Los Angeles DA George Gascón lost last year’s election to former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman.

Krasner rebuts the narrative that progressives are losing clout, noting that a handful of progressive prosecutors have recently won elections. As for his continued popularity, Krasner hypothesizes that the public prefers untraditional politicians.

“That’s the only way that I can explain the phenomenon of people who supported Barack Obama and also supported Donald Trump. Some of them also supported Bernie Sanders,” he said. “If you try to find the common thread to their support, it’s that they were perceived in somewhat different ways as outsiders, as disrupters.”

Krasner said the Democratic party has reached a point where, to stay competitive, it must “grow its tent” to hold on to young, middle-class, and Black and brown voters, some of whom he believes have been conned away by Trump.

“We are in a moment when the public is looking for what feels to them like it’s not just traditional politics, like it’s speaking directly to the issues,” he said. “I intend to keep telling the truth until people listen.”

The consequences of dropped charges

Years of progress on gun violence and general goodwill may not have prepared Krasner for the Scott case, which unleashed the type of chaos that took out his peers. Those who want to see him out of office are taking notice.

“I believe Larry Krasner has enabled Keon King,” Dugan, Krasner’s opponent, said on Fox News. “I’m calling him a co-conspirator in her murder.”

The case dates back to January, when King allegedly kidnapped and assaulted an ex-girlfriend. He was arrested in April. Krasner’s office withdrew the charges in May after the victim and a witness refused to cooperate with prosecutors, he said.

While conceding that his office could have tried the case without the victim’s cooperation, Krasner blamed the judge who released King on a low bail, which the DA reasoned could have contributed to the victim deciding not to come to court out of fear for her safety.

When asked why his office did not appeal against the bail ruling, Krasner said it was a strategic decision not to call a judge in the middle of the night, which could have antagonized the judge resulting in an even lower bail. Krasner’s critics pounced on that assertion.

City courts spokesperson Marty O’Rourke accused Krasner of attempting to scapegoat the judge. “With all due respect, the DA and his staff know there are assigned municipal and commons pleas court judges on call 24/7 and prepared at any hour to address emergency court matters,” he said. “The DA’s comments are appallingly disrespectful and a sad attempt on his part to find a scapegoat for his own failings.”

King is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing for Scott’s killing on 10 November. Krasner’s office has refiled the charges it had dropped against him for the earlier case.