During a portion of an interview with the Fox News Channel aired on Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that whether his decision to not prosecute certain offenses will give criminals a green light “depends upon your definition of a criminal.” And we’ve had “this othering of anyone we put in jail is a criminal.”
Fox News Senior Correspondent Eric Shawn asked, “Would these policies give criminals a green light?”
Bragg responded, “No, I mean, it at least depends upon your definition of a criminal. And for all too long we’ve kind of dealt with this othering of anyone we put in jail is a criminal. Well, you know what, we’re putting in jail homeless people who, literally, in one example, used one counterfeit bill to buy food and toothpaste, got a sentence of [several] years. So, if that’s your definition of a criminal, I suggest we need to really reorder ourselves.”
Bragg also said, “I had a knife to my neck. I’ve had a semi-automatic weapon to my head. I know these issues intimately. What we’re doing now is not working, plain and simple. And so, this is our path forward. This is how we reduce violent crime.”
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