The House Judiciary Committee released a report Wednesday detailing how prosecutors’ “softening policies” in Democratic-run cities are making people pay a high price.

report Features The policies of New York County’s District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Philadelphia’s Larry Krasner, Illinois’ Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, and Washington, D.C.’s U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves include bail “reform” and Includes failure to prosecute a crime. . The Committee also engaged with victims and law enforcement agencies to seek first-hand accounts of the costs of such policies.

“The committee and subcommittee’s oversight demonstrated how corrupt prosecutors in Democratic-run jurisdictions are promoting radical pro-crime policies that undermine public safety,” the report states. . “From District Attorney Alvin Bragg in Manhattan to District Attorney Larry Krasner in Philadelphia, activist prosecutors are prioritizing criminals over the communities they serve. Committees and Subcommittees Witnesses at the meeting gave candid and emotional testimony about how unscrupulous prosecutors’ failures in law enforcement have affected their lives and their communities. (Related article: City councilor cuts his city to eliminate gunfire detection system after long delays in shooting response)

Mr. Bragg implemented his “Day 1” memo when he took office in 2022. These included refusing to prosecute criminal trespassing, resisting arrest and prostitution, reducing penalties for armed robbery, and refusing to sentence offenders to more than 20 years in prison, with some exceptions. . , according to the report. Mr. Bragg’s felony conviction rate was 51%, down from 68% in 2019, and his misdemeanor conviction rate plummeted from 68% to 29% in 2022.

The report said Jose Alba, 61, defended himself from an assailant at his convenience store in 2021, even though surveillance footage showed what appeared to be self-defense. was charged with second-degree murder. The charges were dropped after public outrage, including former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton.

“I still don’t understand why I was charged with murder. I don’t think law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office investigated this case enough. They rushed to judgment and I suffered because of it. ” Alba testified. “Eventually the charges were dropped, but they should never have been brought against me in the first place. I am now traumatized by the incident. I fear that someone will come after me for revenge.”

In Chicago, Foxx dismissed more than 25,000 felonies in his first three years in office, including murders, sex crimes and assaults on police officers, according to the report. She also initially declined to press charges against gangs in a West Side shootout in 2021, but later filed charges against the gang for high-level violence, including charging one person with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after public backlash. He also refuses to prosecute criminal charges.

According to the report, Foxx also supports bail reform policies, which will result in 2,300 “violent criminal charges” in 2021, including people charged with crimes such as sexual assault, murder, kidnapping, and auto burglary. The city was criticized by Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot for putting “dangerous people” on the streets. According to Lightfoot, Chicago arrested 133 people that year who were placed on electronic monitoring pending trial for other violent crimes.

Former Chicago Police Department officer Carlos Yanez was medically retired after being shot during a traffic stop in 2021, according to a report.

“Cook County has become a revolving door,” he told the committee. “Police officers continue to lock up violent criminals, only to find them returning to the streets and committing even more violent crimes, including murder.”

Graves chose not to prosecute 67% of arrests in 2021 in D.C. Superior Court, but in 2015 under former D.C. U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen, Graves chose not to prosecute, according to the report. Only 35% did. Graves is not the district attorney, but in a similar capacity he prosecutes crimes in the city, but as a federal appointment he is not subject to election.

Gaynor Jablonski, owner of Valor Brewpub in Washington, D.C., reportedly said that in 2023, a man pointed a gun at his 4-year-old son at the restaurant, and Jablonski then struggled with the man. said. The man was originally charged with assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, but D.C. prosecutors reduced the charges to attempted assault and possession of a handgun without a license.

“We could have thousands of new laws. We could hire 1,000 new police officers,” Jablonski told the committee. “You can throw millions of dollars into this prosecutor’s office. If no one is going to do their job and prosecute people and hold people accountable, what’s the point?”

Since taking office in Philadelphia in 2018, Krasner has abolished cash bail for crimes such as retail theft and drunk driving, and has declined to prosecute charges such as marijuana possession, possession of the opioid buprenorphine, and prostitution. He fired a prosecutor who refused to carry out his own execution. According to the report, the tender. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted to impeach Krasner in 2022, but the Philadelphia Supreme Court ruled that the articles of impeachment did not meet constitutional standards.

“Police officers are afraid to do their jobs because Krasner is going to hang everyone,” former Philadelphia police officer Nick Jealous told the committee.

The offices of Mr. Klancer, Mr. Mathews, Mr. Fox and Mr. Bragg did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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