This specialized court started holding preliminary hearings without much fanfare on March 8, a decade after the city shut down its first seven-year experiment with it.
The Philadelphia Police Department reported 64 homicides as of today, a 33% increase compared this time to last year.
Suffolk County DA Rachael Rollins, Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner and San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin announced the initiative Wednesday in partnership with the Grassroots Law Project, which is leading the effort.
Experts in psychiatry, public health and law enforcement are taking a “not if, but when” approach.
Back in December, a Philadelphia judge granted Mumia Abu Jamal a chance at a new appeal because a judge who heard his initial appeal had a passing involvement in the case as Philadelphia district attorney.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner says the death penalty has disproportionately affected poor defendants of color who can’t afford private attorneys.
