Larry Krasner won the Democratic nomination for district attorney last night in Philadelphia. The left-wing civil rights attorney who defended Black Lives Matter in court was widely seen as an outsider for much of the race.
Krasner campaigned on a progressive platform, including ending mass incarceration, the death penalty, the war on drugs, and civil asset forfeiture, and pushing thorough investigation of police misconduct.
In an interview with The Intercept, Krasner said he is running because change is needed urgently. "When you have more people in jail than any country in the world, that’s a problem. When you have more people of color in jail than South Africa had during apartheid, that’s a problem. When you have the most incarcerated city of the ten largest cities in the United States, that’s a problem. When you have more people doing life sentences whose homicides were committed as juveniles than any state in the country and any country in the world, that’s a problem."
Philadelphia's election for district attorney will be held in the fall. Krasner is highly favored to defeat Republican candidate Beth Grossman. The city's previous D.A., Seth Williams, will go on trial next month on federal bribery charges.