Alvin Bragg, Manhattan’s new district attorney, faces tough questions about his radical vision for criminal justice in New York City. Apparently surprised by the criticism of his agenda, he has pushed back, pointing out that he ran for office promising to reform prosecution in Manhattan and is merely doing what he was “overwhelmingly elected” to do.
Though Bragg won a low-turnout election, he was transparent during his campaign about his plans to seek non-carceral outcomes for virtually all crimes, not to prosecute illegal possession of guns in the absence of a shooting, and to make every effort to downgrade felonies to misdemeanors. “Reserving incarceration for matters involving significant harm,” he believes, “will make us safer” (emphasis his).
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