The term “progressive prosecutor,” which emerged a decade ago to describe prosecutors dedicated to improving the criminal justice system, has become increasingly politicized. In an event hosted by the Vanderbilt Project on Prosecution Policy, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner suggested redefining them as “reform prosecutors.” By adopting the new label, Krasner advocates that the phrase’s meaning can shift back to the core goal of transforming a deeply flawed system.
Using Reform Prosecution to Fix a Broken System
Krasner began by describing the present-day connotations of “progressive prosecution.”
“The first thing you think of when you think of progressive is AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)—I like AOC, but AOC is not a lawyer or a prosecutor. The second thing you think is Bernie Sanders—I like Bernie Sanders, but he isn’t a lawyer or a prosecutor either,” he said. Krasner prefers the term “reform prosecutor” because, as he plainly stated, “The system is a mess, and it needs to be reformed.”
He pointed to the U.S.’ reliance on mass incarceration, drawing comparisons to more rehabilitative models of criminal justice in countries like Germany. “We’re the most incarcerated big country in the world, and we have been for a very long time,” he said. “We call ourselves the land of the free… but there’s a problem here, especially if it turns out that all that incarceration actually endangers us—which it does.” Krasner emphasized that reforming the U.S. criminal justice system to focus on rehabilitation and reintegration could lead to safer societal outcomes. “The bottom line is, [Germany is] a whole lot safer and a whole lot freer—isn’t that supposed to be the point in a democracy?”
Prosecutors Leading the Charge for Change
“There is no question that part of the problem we have in the United States has been that the role of a DA is very politicized,” Krasner said. He discussed the potential for the position to serve as a launch pad to higher office can affect the perception of certain decisions. He also noted the potential for a judge’s behavior to change when running for office. “A judge who used to give five years, all of a sudden, you’re getting 40. Why? Because they’re up against an election, and they’re using… very important matters involving human beings as a way to advance.”
Reflecting on his time as Philadelphia’s District Attorney, Krasner emphasized his willingness to do the right thing in the face of potential disagreement, even with his own Democratic Party, which did not endorse him in his most recent election. His earnest commitment to justice and integrity over a high political standing reinforced his calls for reform in a broken system.
Media’s Role in Affecting Public Perception
Krasner believes the media negatively skews the narrative of public safety for the sake of entertainment and profit. “The reality is that our entertainment and our news media have made a lot of money over a very long period of time off of sensational, horrible cases,” he said. “They’re true, but they’re also totally decontextualized.”
He described a notable study where Americans were polled every year on their beliefs about American crime rates. While crime had been declining in the U.S. for over 30 years at the point of the study, “on average, the American public believed every year that it was going up,” Krasner said. “And 65% of the American public, on average, believed it was going up.”
“If you ever wonder how the land of the free became the most incarcerated big country in the world, it’s because you were brainwashed,” he said. “It’s because you have an entire population that believes things that are not true year after year, and you have politicians pandering to it, and you have entertainment and news media intentionally or unintentionally reinforcing it by decontextualizing what is actually going on.”
