Waking up too late to D.A. disaster

I’ve been watching as Larry Krasner has come in for criticism, now on a national scale. Everyone from the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, to former Philly mayor Michael Nutter, to former prosecutors who’ve fled the D.A.’s office, to even the daily newsletter for the D.A., the Philadelphia Inquirer, has turned on him. I’m not sure whether this represents progress, or whether it’s an example of CYA writ large. I’m leaning towards the latter.

Years ago, when I wrote for the Inquirer, I penned a few columns about the dangers that his version of criminal justice reform posed for the region. I’m no expert in criminal justice, but it doesn’t take someone with an advanced degree to know that something is wrong with a prosecutor who cares more about slandering police and emptying jails than he does about convicting killers.

And, not to say that I was a lone voice crying out in the wilderness (there were others who raised the Cassandra-like warning) but the vast majority of the people who had access to bully pulpits did one of two things: Remained silent about the obvious abuses and dangers posed by Krasner and Krew, or actively carried his water. Now, some of those who dragged those water jugs across Philadelphia’s media landscape are engaged in the repentance tour.

As I noted a few weeks ago, Michael Nutter penned a scathing oped criticizing Krasner for claiming, laughably, that there was no crime crisis in the city. He mixed it up with some social wokeness about white privilege, but he did come down hard on the man, highlighting his absolute lack of concern for victims and their families. But where was Nutter prior to the elections, both the primary in May and the general in November?

Then we have the assistant prosecutors leaving in droves, more than 80 at last count, a majority of them handpicked by Larry himself. I actually applaud them for leaving a sinking, stinking ship, and I won’t even criticize them for their horrific judgment in climbing on — without life vests — in the first place. But I found it incredibly ironic that the Inquirer runs a front-page story on the bloodletting at the D.A.’s office, observing that there is frustration and anger among the attorneys who are handcuffed by social justice priorities and prevented from putting criminals behind bars. Where were these stories when Carlos Vega was running a viable campaign against Krasner in the primary? Where were the reporters when Charles Peruto, whose campaign slogan was “Enough is Enough,” tried to unseat the man who put a revolving door in front of jails and detention centers?

Years ago, Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker won their well-deserved Pulitzer for investigative journalism when they exposed corruption in the Philadelphia Police Department. The Inquirer was thrilled to expose that corruption, and enjoy the reflected glory of two of the most accomplished and courageous journalists this city has produced. This happened when I was still there, and I was (and still am) in awe of Wendy, Barbara and the work that they did.

But where are the Wendys and Barbaras today? Where were the investigative journalists who could have done detailed examinations of the chaos and incompetence at Krasner Central, and given the voters a clear-eyed view of the slow-motion train wreck? I’ve googled, I’ve searched, and I’ve tried to do my own deep dive digging, and it’s impossible to come up with more than a few throw away columns about discontent with the D.A.’s office.

Nutter, the ex-assistant prosecutors, the Inquirer and even some of the so-called progressive voices in the city are just now waking up from their sleep in the Disenchanted Forest. They’re looking around at the corpses in our local Killing Fields and saying to themselves, “Gee I guess we better say something so people forget we said nothing.” These current critiques of Krasner are as notable as they are empty, because they have no power to make any real difference.

Larry Krasner has at least another four years to push Philadelphia to the brink of anarchy, and the people who once embraced him, including those who continue to call the police “pigs” and vilify anyone who seeks actual justice for victims, can pretend to be appalled.

They can clutch their pearls around their tender necks all they want. We’re the ones choking. It’s too late for the Heimlich, and it’s their fault.