When the Pennsylvania House flipped to a Democrat majority from Republican, much of the state Legislature lost its appetite for impeaching Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
But there is a workaround that Senate Republicans believe will curb crime in Philadelphia.
The Pennsylvania Senate last week approved legislation that would require the commonwealth’s attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to institute prosecutorial jurisdiction when heinous crimes occur on public transportation in Philadelphia.
Specifically, it would apply to crimes committed on Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) property, which includes bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus. The measure still needs to be approved by the House and signed by Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro, the state’s former attorney general.
Recent Crime Rates
Statistics show that gun crimes and homicides are up in Philadelphia, and 992 people died by homicide in Philadelphia between Jan. 1, 2021, and Oct. 16, 2022, according to a report about crime in the city.But riders and SEPTA employees have complained to lawmakers about the increasing number of people on trains and stops who are addicted to drugs, homeless, or suffering from serious mental illness.
Last year, the Senate Transportation Committee traveled to Philadelphia to collect testimony on the safety and sustainability of SEPTA. They heard that law enforcement is stymied by a failure of prosecution follow-through after arrests are made, said Republican Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., the prime sponsor of the legislation.
“A special prosecutor would address the sweeping inaction of the current Philadelphia district attorney and ensure scofflaws will answer for their crimes since the current DA has a systemic record of failing to prosecute assaults on victims,” Langerholc said in a statement.
Accused of Voter Suppression
Democrat Sens. Vincent Hughes and Art Haywood argued passionately against a special prosecutor, calling the move voter suppression.“Voter suppression takes many forms, including taking away what the voters voted for. Here, that is exactly what is happening. The voters voted for DA Krasner to have full power over all prosecutions in the city of Philadelphia, and this legislation deprives him of that power over SEPTA,” Haywood said on the Senate floor.
He added that voter suppression “is not just a poll tax, it’s not just literacy tests, it’s not just voter ID, it’s not just gerrymandering; it’s taking away the power of people that they voted for.”
Hughes pounded the podium while speaking against the bill.
“What this bill does is it removes the power of the citizens of Philadelphia to choose who their prosecutor is by eliminating that prosecutor’s responsibilities,” Hughes said. “By doing so, what they say to the 1.6 million people who live in the city of Philadelphia is that you are second-class citizens.
“I’m not a second-class citizen. And no one from the city of Philadelphia are second-class citizens. We’re just as equal. Just as relevant as every other citizen in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This is another form of voter suppression.”
Hughes was heated and was asked to suspend his comments as voter suppression is outside the scope of the bill.
Democrat Sen. Sharif Street also spoke against the proposal.
“This will not make us safer. I say this as a victim of crime who had a relative murdered in 2021. I say this as a person who’s had staff people who’ve had folks murdered. I say this as the person who stands at funerals of children on a regular basis,“ Street said. ”The people of Philadelphia who are subjected to the crimes do not want this. They elected a district attorney who represents their values. Mass incarceration has not made us safer, and we made a selection.
Krasner ‘Not Doing His Job’
Langerholc wondered aloud why the bill was controversial.“What is happening to our country? Honestly, why are we here debating this bill? What is the motive? What are the circumstances that led to this bill being on the calendar here today?” Langerholc said, adding that it isn’t to deny Philadelphia residents the right to choose their district attorney. The bill allows for concurrent jurisdiction so Krasner could still prosecute.
“The problem is, [Krasner] is not doing his job. It’s not a question of the way of the manner in which he’s doing it, he’s just flat-out not doing it.”
Arrests are very different from prosecutions, he said. The police are doing their jobs, making arrests.
“The problem is in the follow-through. You have to remind this district attorney why they took an oath? What their job is? Come on,” he said.
Although the bill passed in the chamber, Hughes and Haywood later sent out a letter saying they were censored on the Senate floor for “calling out of voter suppression.”
“There is a growing trend in Pennsylvania and across the country to censor and silence voices speaking out against attempts to skirt the will of the people and the power of their vote. Senators Haywood, Hughes, and their colleagues in the PA Senate Democratic Caucus will fight to ensure this does not happen within the Commonwealth,” they said in a statement.
“Silencing lawmakers who look, love, and speak differently than you is a dangerous act of censorship that too many Republicans are embracing as common practice,” Haywood said in the statement. “We didn’t stand for it in Tennessee, we didn’t stand for it in Montana, and we certainly won’t stand for it in Pennsylvania. The will of the people will always prevail.”
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
