#Cracking the case of the ‘woke’ prosecutor

One of the most puzzling conundrums about “progressive” prosecutors — who favor de-prosecution and de-carceration — is to ascertain their motivations. 

What are these elected chief prosecutors thinking when they unilaterally decide not to enforce the law? And why, even as murders increase in the big cities they police, do they continue to support these policies without shame? 

Let’s consider the options: 

ARE THEY RACISTS? One of the big arguments from the left today is that “disparate impact” is in and of itself and indication of racism. If fewer African-American children are graduating high school, for instance, the system must be racist. 

Consider Philly 

Well, in Philadelphia, homicides have exploded from a low of 248 murders in 2014 to 562 killings in 2020, a new all-time record. The victims of this violence are almost entirely people of color living in the poorest sections of the city. In 2020, more than 85% of the homicide victims in Philadelphia were black. Progressive prosecutor Larry Krasner is overseeing policies and programs that are corresponding with the deaths of hundreds of people of color every year, from children to young men to the elderly. All evidence suggests Krasner does not care, or he would change his policies. 

ARE THEY FISCAL CONSERVATIVES? The cost of solving a homicide and convicting a guilty party is enormous. Estimates of the all-in costs of investigation, trial and incarceration range from $8 million to $17 million per case. 

While the number of homicides has been spiking under progressive prosecutors, the clearance rate for homicides has been plummeting: Once around 80%, rates are dropping into the 30% range in some cities. Great news for the bottom line. 

Chicago progressive prosecutor Kim Foxx is a prime example. Homicides have gone through the roof under her watch. Chicago recorded 770 homicides in 2020, the year Foxx was re-elected, and more than 800 homicides in 2021, levels not seen since the 1990s crack epidemic. Solving all the homicides and convicting a defendant for just 2020’s cases would have cost Chicago taxpayers up to $13 billion. However, under Foxx’s leadership, the clearance rate for homicides in 2020 was around 44%. Thus, Foxx saved Chicago more than $7 billion in one year. While the victims’ families may be disappointed, Foxx has wisely overlooked their selfish viewpoint. 

ARE THEY INSANE? A popular definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. The just-indicted Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is an interesting candidate for this theory. 

In 2014, the year before she took office, Baltimore recorded 211 homicides. Since then, Mosby has de-prosecuted crimes on a wholesale basis, vilified the police and led the way in de-carcerating even violent criminals. Not surprisingly, homicides promptly rose to more than 300 per year. Throughout that time, Mosby publicly wondered what might bring down Baltimore’s violent crime rate. But she never considered changing her own policies, except to double down on them. When in 2020 homicides still were above 300 but showed a decline of fewer than 15, Mosby had the hubris to ask on social media what Baltimore was doing right and the rest of American cities could learn from Baltimore. 

ARE THEY ANARCHISTS? Perhaps these prosecutors are letting large swaths of the poor population get killed and failing to convict perpetrators of crimes because they crave disorder. 

Dispirit of St. Louis 

St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner supplies evidence for this. Since Gardner was elected on a progressive platform as the St. Louis circuit attorney in 2016, she has vigorously de-prosecuted misdemeanors and felonies; in 2019, she prosecuted only 1,641 of the 7,045 felony prosecutions the city’s police department sought. 

There has been more than 100% turnover in the office, as line prosecutors voted with their feet and left. Gardner is under investigation by the Missouri disciplinary board for misconduct in her role as a prosecutor. 

She sued the St. Louis PD for racism, and the case was promptly dismissed. She previously admitted to campaign-finance-law violations. 

Her most recent gaffe was virtually inconceivable for a competent prosecutor — when a prosecutor assigned to a homicide case was out on maternity leave, Gardner failed to appoint another one to handle the prosecution, leading to multiple failures to appear for hearings related to the case and the ultimate dismissal of the homicide charges. The judge on the case stated that Gardner’s office “essentially abandoned its duty to prosecute those it charges with crimes.” The prosecutor who was on leave quit in disgust. 

During Gardner’s remarkable tenure so far, homicides and shootings in St. Louis spiked and remain demoralizingly high. The city, which saw just 74 homicides as recently as 2003, now rejoices when its homicide rate reverts to the levels of the 1990s crack-cocaine epidemic. One can only conclude is that’s the way Gardner likes the city. 

Pity the American cities failing to see that these prosecutors are a cancer eating away at their own hosts. Alvin Bragg is threatening to bring this circus of ineptitude to Manhattan, and the Big Apple is justifiably concerned. 

In a grim but truthful statement, Philadelphia’s progressive mayor recently predicted another five to 10 years of violence in that city. Five to 10 years sounds suspiciously like a criminal’s sentence, not a plan for civic success. 

Tom Hogan, now in private practice, has served as a federal prosecutor, local prosecutor and elected district attorney.