Pennsylvania’s Republican-led House of Representatives impeached embattled progressive, soft-on-crime Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Krasner was elected in 2017 and reelected to a second term in 2021. In recent months, however, he has been blamed for a surge in homicides and violent crime.
Republicans have criticized Krasner’s support for “dramatically reducing the number of prisoners.” His website notes his goals are to introduce progressive reforms to Philadelphia’s criminal justice system.
In September, Axios reported that Philadelphia was immersed in an epidemic of violent crime and homicides, noting with alarm that the city was on pace to eclipse high 2021 statistics.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the House impeached Krasner after an “intense debate.” The final vote was 107-85, with votes running along party lines.
Krasner’s office blasted “elected officials who do not live or vote in Philadelphia” for “trying so hard to erase the votes of Philadelphians” without presenting “a single shred of evidence connecting [their] policies to any uptick in crime.”
CBS reported that Krasner claimed Republican legislators “willfully avoided hearing the facts about [his] office” and did not provide him an opportunity to defend his record.
Pennsylvania House Majority Leader, Kevin Beninghoff (R), told reporters that House Republicans “stand with the people of Philadelphia who have been living in fear for their lives and the safety of themselves and their families. We are standing up for those who do not have a voice, but long for safety and freedom from fear.”
Beninghoff claimed that Krasner is guilty of “purposeful ineffectiveness in combatting the crime and violence crisis gripping the city,” and therefore impeachment was “the right thing to do.”
The matter now moves to the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania state Senate. A two-thirds majority vote is required for conviction and removal from office. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Senate has not yet set a date for those proceedings.
When comparing 2022 with 2021 statistics, Philadelphia has experienced a 4.46% rise in violent crime, a 30.74% rise in property-related offenses and a 48+% rise in robberies committed with a firearm.
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