by Eric Lendrum
The controversial new District Attorney for Manhattan, New York City has ordered his prosecutors to stop seeking harsh sentences against murderers and terrorists, including life sentences without the possibility of parole.
The Washington Free Beacon reports that District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D-N.Y.) issued a memo on January 3rd prohibiting his staff from pursuing sentences such as life in prison, and even went so far as to suggest that they never pursue sentences any harsher than 20 years behind bars.
“My commitment to making incarceration a matter of last resort is immutable,” Bragg said in the memo. “In exceptionally serious cases such as homicides where lengthy periods of incarceration are justified, ADAs shall consider the use of restorative justice as a mitigating factor in determining the length of the sentence, only when victims or their loved ones consent.”
Among the crimes that qualify for life without parole in the state of New York are first-degree murder, terrorism, assassinating police officers, child murder, and possession of chemical or biological weapons. The memo does hint at the possibility of allowing steeper sentences for “exceptional circumstances,” but does not clearly state what would qualify for such exceptions.
Bragg, like many other district attorneys around the country, was heavily backed by far-left billionaire George Soros, who donated $1 million to Bragg’s primary campaign last June through his Justice and Public Safety PAC. Bragg ultimately emerged victorious in the primary by a 4-point margin, and went on to easily win the general election.
Other cities that have seen far-left individuals elected to the office of district attorney include Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. San Francisco and Los Angeles in particular have seen spikes in crime after the state passed a law no longer making it a crime to shoplift, as long as the total amount of stolen goods comes out to less than $1,000.
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
Photo “Alvin Bragg” by Alvin Bragg. Background Photo “Courtroom” by Karen Neoh. CC BY 2.0.
