I don’t know if Manhatten’s new D.A. is lazy or just corrupt, but either way, the city is going to suffer under his “empty the jails” plan. Manhatten’s newly appointed District Attorney Alvin Bragg has put out a memo to his staff that basically reads: unless it’s a serious crime let them go free. Looks like Bragg is going to be butting heads with the new Mayor Eric Adams who is planning to get crime under control…
“Manhattan’s new district attorney has ordered his prosecutors to stop seeking prison sentences in a slew of criminal cases, according to a set of progressive policies made public Tuesday.
In his first memo to staff on Monday, Alvin Bragg said his office “will not seek a carceral sentence” except for in homicide and a handful of other cases, including domestic violence felonies, some sex crimes and public corruption.
“This rule may be excepted only in extraordinary circumstances based on a holistic analysis of the facts, criminal history, victim’s input (particularly in cases of violence or trauma), and any other information available,” the memo reads.”
“In the rare cases where prosecutors will be allowed to ask for jail sentences, no sentence shall be for more than 20 years. He quite literally says that there will be no exceptions. So if you’re in New York City and you go mow down a dozen police officers with a gun or a vehicle, you can’t be sentenced to more than two decades. He specifically forbids any sentences of life without parole for anything.”
This approach almost makes you wonder was the D.A. paid off? His whole job is to prosecute criminals and get justice for the victims and community. But Bragg here seems to be under the impression that only serious crimes matter. How is the mayor going to reduce crime and get criminals behind bars if Bragg refuses to put them there?