This year’s race for Cumberland County’s next head prosecutor could be a major opportunity for criminal justice reform.
That’s because district attorneys are some of the most powerful gatekeepers of the prison system. They exercise enormous discretion as to whether to bring charges against a person, which charges to bring, and the shape of plea agreements. They hold influence over sentence length, diversion opportunities, and bail amounts, too.
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Larry Krasner, newly elected district attorney in Philadelphia, has shown model ideas for progressive candidates seeking criminal justice reform.
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Exiting Cumberland county district attorney Stephanie Anderson, a republican who has held the Position since 1991, entered during the era of mass incarceration and publicly opposed marijuana legislation.
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