Larry, Larry, Larry.
Larry Krasner is the District Attorney of Philadelphia, a man unsuited by temperament and experience for the job to which he was elected, but he is loving it.
The people he should be serving and protecting? Not so much.
Where to start? With the latest example of his affection for the accused — his baffling request last week that the courts give him permission to reduce charges from third-degree murder to voluntary manslaughter against the defendant in the Rittenhouse stabbing murder. He got a green light for the reduction on Monday.
You remember the case: Sean Schellenger, a 37-year-old Point Breeze developer, was stabbed to death by Michael White, 21, a deliveryman and student during an altercation near Rittenhouse Square.
There was no legal reason for reducing the charges, I am told by lawyers I trust. There was no logical reason for it either.
This is not a knee-jerk rant on my part against Krasner.
Last August, when the D.A. declined to file first-degree murder charges against White, I supported that decision.
“As a law and order guy — yes, I am the one at this paper — I am no big Krasner fan, but I am a big fan of justice. That means charging the right guy with the right crime,” I wrote, and based on the evidence at the time, this did not seem like first-degree, premeditated murder.
Krasner instead filed for third-degree and voluntary manslaughter. Third-degree carries a penalty of from 20-40 years in jail, while voluntary manslaughter carries 10-20 years.
Last week he suddenly decided his office would have a better chance of conviction on the lesser charge.
Linda Schellenger, the victim’s mother, was outraged. Both murder and manslaughter should be on the table, she said, to let the jury decide.
That seems to be what Krasner wants to avoid, because his heart is always with the defendant. There is no surprise here. When he was running for D.A., two words he used a lot — “mass incarceration,” “end bail” and “restorative justice.” Three words he never used — “law and order.”
For the record, I support him in reducing cash bail and his efforts to review cases in which defendants were treated unfairly and did not receive justice. But his job description does not include remaking the criminal justice system.
Did Krasner want to make the murder charge disappear because he plans on offering a plea deal that would be less than the 10-20 years voluntary manslaughter carries? Is Krasner trying to cut the sentence down to a misdemeanor? There is a dead victim to consider. We will find out soon.
Krasner’s coddling of criminals was clear in the case of Meek Mill, the rapper-turned-social-justice-warrior, who was arrested long ago on drug and gun charges. There was controversy surrounding the length and terms of his parole, true, but Krasner acted more like his defense attorney than as a prosecutor. Somewhere along the way, like progressive magic, the gun charge was made to disappear.
Another guy with a gun, Mumia Abu-Jamal, also has Krasner’s sympathies, rather than his deceased victim, Police Officer Danny Faulkner, who was executed on a Center City sidewalk almost 40 years ago.
And for almost 40 years the Mumidiots have unsuccessfully tried to convince the public that the Black Panther radio-reporter-turned-cab-driver was not guilty. His case has proven to be a cottage industry for lawyers who have filed countless appeals, which have always been fought by the district attorney’s office.
Until now.
Mumia lawyer Judith Ritter on Sept. 3, asked Superior Court to send the case back to Common Pleas Court Judge Leon Tucker. The defense contends it has discovered new evidence significant to Mumia’s appeal. They found new evidence after 40 years? Maybe they found magic beans, too.
Breaking with tradition, the D.A. went into the tank and said it did not oppose Mumia’s motion.
Does Krasner actually want a new trial for Mumia? It’s like Krasner doesn’t understand our criminal justice system is adversarial, pitting defense versus prosecution. As a reminder: Larry — you are the prosecutor.
Faulkner’s widow Maureen and about 100 others protested last week outside Krasner’s office, with the widow calling on Krasner to recuse himself because of conflicts of interest, the Inquirer reported. Krasner’s wife, Common Pleas Judge Lisa Rau, was once a law firm partner with David Rudovsky, who represented Mumia in earlier appeals, said Faulkner. She also said some D.A. staffers previously were Mumia advocates.
D.A. spokesperson Jane Roh declined comment to the Inquirer, but mocked the protestors with tweets that were borderline racist (notice the spelling of “qwhite”) and ageist. Empathy is reserved for criminals. Philadelphians, you pay her $118,000 salary.
The Mumidiots are persistent. They have gamed the system for decades and won’t quit until he’s dead. They probably won’t even stop then. Their hero killed Faulkner and now the scum won’t give his widow and his friends permanent closure.
I would tell Krasner he has to choose sides, but he already has.
The wrong side.
Part 2 Thursday: Krasner questions himself.
Do you recall the Caryl (sp?) Chessman case? Lord, save us from misplaced compassion.
Where was Krasner’s compassion for Tavonia Love?
Tell us how you really feel, Stu! Actually, I agree with you 100%. I’m not of Philly stock, but I know a sleaze-ball lawyer when I smell one, and Krasner more than fills those shoes. And you have to remember that he was actually elected to his current position. So what does that tell you?
He can also be un-elected. Go to work, Stu!
I’m doing what I can.
Just a couple of points that are relevant to the points that you made. His treatment of the victims who should be among the first and most respected of the Judicial system are either not included in his process of charges being reduced or are told the opposite of what they understood to be his actions on their case. The second point is the conflict of interest by his staff and especially by the comment of his communications director. In the photo are many officers who not only knew Danny but worked with him. Based on past treatment of police on social media and current upheaval in the Department what active police officer would Jeopardize his career by protesting the charging authority of his or her arrests.
Understood.
My respect and admiration for always being factual and truthful in your coverage of people and events happening today in our country.
Stu, you should look into the endless cases Krasner is reviewing and see how he conveniently can not find or his office forgets to notify the victims family.
Also , in the case of juvenile lifers, the Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional for mandatory life for criminals under 18. They do set a guideline of 30 years to life. Why does Krasner try and get them off with time served?
I will have more to say on Thursday.
Krasner never made a secret of where he stood or what he’d do when he took office. Hopefully, most of the people who voted for him have come to their senses. We’ll see in two years
It was no secret.
HAPPY TUESDAY !!!
Philly is a mirror of the United States, in that as a very democratic naive city, the population is getting the abuse that politicians dole out ! For the last many years, the republican party fell out of favor. It’s easy to see why. Understanding is another matter.
With this socially acceptable reign, comes a very steep price. King Soros anoints those in his favor. I believe that Krasner got a million bucks from George. This all fits together. Keep the population in the dark. Keep the money at the top. Chase (tax) business out of the city and protect the illegals. Punish the police for doing their job and reward those that do wrong.
Over the years, Philly like every other city has had its ups and downs. We were never lawless but we were heavy handed. And before we hear from the bleeding hearts, us white boys had the opportunity to have a cop put his foot up our butts and hand us over to our parents. If that didn’t get your attention, then when they went to throw you into the “paddy wagon”, they would forget to open the door.
My point to all of this. To quote OUR President, “what do you have to lose?”.
Tony
Nice try, pallie.
This man is a TOTAL DISGRACE! But the Idiots in Philadelphia will probably re-elect him.
Worst decision ever
Offered a choice on Election Day, Philadelphia voters, for some reason, decided to elect Democrat Krasner. Republican candidate Beth Grossman, a venerated veteran of the D.A.’s office, was soundly defeated. Grossman was endorsed by The Inquirer and the police union.
David,
Philly is close to 80% dem. The rest is split between independents and republicans. Having said that, I would bet that the local committee person still tells the neighborhood who to vote for. It was,”who got your ticket fixed. who got your street cleaned?”. Maybe today it’s who got you a jog with the city? I know that when I was a city employee, the candidates for council would come around and promise us the moon. You did without before, although you were promised the moon. Now, another candidate would blow smoke upwards. Sad to say, the city employees fell for it over and over again.
Tony
The few who bothered to vote screwed the rest of us.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Philadelphia has been in Democrat hands since 1948, and since that time lost about half its population. It has the second highest wage tax in the nation, and taxes businesses on their sales, not their profits. Yet every election day, like the zombies in “Night of the Living Dead,” the voters go to the polls and stick a knife in their own backs. I believe it was Churchill who said, “The best argument against Democracy is to spend ten minutes with the average voter.”
You are correct.
Election was bought by Soros whose political arm spent over $1,000,000 electing this so called DA. Other candidates could not compete with his advertising and street money, any of them would have been a thousand times better than Krasner.
I’m sorry to say the election was not bought by Soros, it was given to Krasner by those who didn’t bother to vote. I tried to tell everyone, the DA race is not just for “cops and robbers”.
The problem is the lack of charges in the “broken windows” crimes. This is what frustrates the citizens of this City(if it can be called that it’s more like a circus). This concept of not charging the lesser crimes causes the police and probation dept to think twice about doing their jobs. Why should we pick up a criminal knowing the will be released by the next day and really face no ramifications.
Krasner will be elected by the Democratic cadre. You can see that by the way the police were treated at the recent shoot out.
Agreed. Nonenforcement of laws leads to disrespect for all law.
I say all us Republicans sell and move our families and businesses out of city. Philly is a disgrace. If it werent for Cathlic Schools every neighbirhood would be a ghetto
Or have more Republicans move in and vote.
Larry Krasner, the arrogant SOB out of Stanford, is still a defensive end who continues to sack justice.