Larry Krasner
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Lawrence Samuel Krasner (born March 30, 1961) is an American lawyer who is the 26th District Attorney of Philadelphia. Elected to the position in 2017, Krasner was one of the first U.S. district attorney candidates to run as a self-described "progressive prosecutor". He campaigned on a platform to reform elements of the criminal justice system and to reduce
incarceration Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
. Krasner's policies include ending criminal charges against those caught with marijuana possession, ending cash bail for those accused of some misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, reducing supervision for
parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
es, and seeking more lenient sentences for certain crimes. During his time in office, he has pursued police misconduct and advocated for greater police accountability. In 2022, Krasner was
impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...
by the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...
on multiple counts; several counts related to various alleged "dereliction of duty" and "misbehavior in office", and another alleged that Krasner had attempted to obstruct the legislative probe that led to his impeachment. An impeachment trial was scheduled to take place in the
Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...
, but was indefinitely postponed. In September 2024, the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...
ruled that the articles of impeachment had expired. Krasner was re-elected to a second term in 2021. In May 2025, Krasner won the Democratic Party primary for Philadelphia district attorney, virtually assuring he will win reelection in the November 2025 general election after Republicans did not field a candidate for the first time in decades.


Early life, education, and legal career

Krasner was born in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
in 1961. His father, William Krasner, was the son of
Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...
immigrants, an author of
crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
, and his mother, Juanita Frazier, was an
evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
minister. Krasner graduated from Conestoga High School in 1979, from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1983, and from
Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...
in 1987. Following his law graduation and bar passage, Krasner returned to Philadelphia and became a public defender. He opened his law firm in 1993 and worked as a
criminal defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the Defense (legal), defense of individuals and companies charged with Criminal law, criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while other ...
in Philadelphia for 30 years, specializing in
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
and frequently representing protestors ''pro bono.'' After the 2000 Republican National Convention (RNC), Krasner represented some of the 400 RNC protestors arrested at the time, most of whom were acquitted.


Philadelphia District Attorney


Elections


2017

Philadelphia district attorney R. Seth Williams announced in February 2017 that he would not run for reelection. Williams resigned from office and pleaded guilty to federal
bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...
charges in June 2017; his interim replacement, Kathleen Martin, chose not to run. Shortly before Krasner announced his candidacy, John McNesby, president of Lodge 5 of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, derided Krasner's intention to enter the race as "hilarious." Krasner ran his campaign on a platform to eliminate cash bail, address police misconduct and end mass incarceration. Less than three weeks before the primary, a
political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
supporting Krasner's campaign received a $1.45 million contribution from billionaire
George Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
. Krasner's representation of
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
and Occupy Philadelphia members led many to call him an "anti-establishment" candidate during the Democratic primary campaign. He campaigned against existing policies that had resulted in disproportionately high numbers of minority males being jailed. Krasner was a featured speaker at the 2017
People's Summit The People's Summit was an annual conference in Chicago held by a group of progressive political organizations in the United States. People's Summit 2016 Held in June 2016, the first People's Summit was set against the backdrop of the Bernie San ...
. Krasner won the May 16, 2017 Democratic primary with 38% of the vote, defeating former city and federal prosecutor Joe Khan, former Philadelphia Managing Director Rich Negrin, former First Assistant District Attorney Tariq El-Shabazz, former prosecutor Michael Untermeyer, former prosecutor Jack O'Neill, and former Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni. City officials reported voter turnout spiked nearly 50 percent compared to 2009, which was the last contested race for district attorney of Philadelphia. The primary was widely seen as a proxy election; the winner of the Democratic primary election is the presumptive victor of the general election since Philadelphia has almost seven times as many registered Democrats as registered Republicans. As expected, the November general election was not competitive, with Krasner winning almost three times as many votes as his Republican opponent, former assistant district attorney Beth Grossman.


2021

In his 2021 re-election campaign, Krasner faced Carlos Vega in the Democratic primary. Vega was fired by Krasner from the Philadelphia DA office when Krasner began implementing reforms within the office. Vega, as a prosecutor, was involved in retrying Anthony Wright on rape and murder charges even after DNA evidence showed another man committed the crime. In the lead-up to his 2021 re-election campaign, the Philadelphia police union instructed its members to switch party affiliation to the Democratic party so that they could vote for Krasner's opponent in the Democratic primary. The top spender in the campaign was a political action committee formed by retired cops. During the campaign, Krasner's opponents argued that his criminal justice reform policies had contributed to an increase in violent crime, however Staff writers of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Oona Goodin-Smith, Andrew Seidman, and Julia Terruso say there is no evidence to substantiate this claim. On May 18, the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
called the race for Krasner, leading 65% to 35% with 22% of the votes counted. Krasner's victory was considered to be likely due to his strong support from predominantly
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
wards and continued support from progressive activist groups.


2025

On February 18, 2025, Krasner officially launched his bid for a third term as Philadelphia District Attorney. On May 20, 2025, Krasner would win the Democratic primary after defeating challenger Pat Dugan with over 60% of the vote. As he is without a Republican challenger in the November general election, the primary win was also regarded as a third term re-election win.


Tenure

In his first week in office, Krasner fired 31 prosecutors from the District Attorney's Office, including both junior and career supervisory staff. Those fired represented nearly a 10% reduction in the number of Philadelphia assistant district attorneys. In February 2018, Krasner announced that law enforcement would no longer pursue criminal charges against those caught with
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
possession. That same month, Krasner instructed prosecutors to stop seeking cash bail for those accused of some misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. Krasner said that it was unfair to keep people in detention simply because they could not afford bail. Krasner also announced that the DA's office had filed a lawsuit against a number of pharmaceutical companies for their role in the city's
opioid epidemic The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse or abuse, and overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs called opiates or opioids since the 1990s. It inc ...
. Krasner instructed prosecutors to stop charging sex workers who had fewer than three convictions. In March 2018, it was reported that Krasner's staffers were working on creating a sentence review unit to review past cases and sentences and to seek resentencing in instances where individuals were given unduly harsh punishments. That same month, Krasner instructed prosecutors to reduce sentence lengths to defendants making pleas, refuse to bring certain low-level charges, and publicly explain their reasoning for pursuing expensive incarcerations to taxpayers footing the bills. He said,
"Fiscal responsibility is a justice issue, and it is an urgent justice issue. A dollar spent on incarceration should be worth it. Otherwise, that dollar may be better spent on addiction treatment, on public education, on policing and on other types of activity that make us all safer."
In 2018, some judges rejected the reduced sentences which Krasner's prosecutors had sought for juveniles who had previously been sentenced to life in prison. In June 2018, Krasner called for the compiling of a comprehensive list of police officers who had lied while on duty, used excessive force, racially profiled, or violated civil rights, an unprecedented move to spotlight dishonest police officers and check their future courtroom testimony. In 2019, Krasner filed a motion in the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...
to declare capital punishment in Pennsylvania unconstitutional. He claimed the death penalty was illegal in the state because of the ban on
cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisdi ...
in the
Pennsylvania Constitution The Constitution of Pennsylvania is the supreme law within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All acts of the General Assembly, the governor, and each governmental agency are subordinate to it. Since 1776, Pennsylvania's Constitution has undergone ...
, citing the high turnover rates of convictions by appeals, the racially biased number of sentences given to black and Hispanic defendants, and the large number of convictions overturned due to ineffective counsel. Krasner's progressive policies have caused the
Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...
to take steps to divert Krasner's authority to prosecute crime in Philadelphia to other officials. In 2019, the legislature passed a bill that established concurrent-jurisdiction between the District Attorney's Office and the Pennsylvania Attorney General to prosecute gun crimes in Philadelphia. Following the fatal shooting of Philadelphia police officer James O'Connor IV, Krasner faced criticism from William McSwain, a federal prosecutor appointed by
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. McSwain, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, blamed the shooting on a prosecutorial discretion decision by Krasner's office to drop drug charges against suspected killer Hassan Elliott. While on probation for a gun possession charge, Elliott was arrested again on January 29, 2019, for cocaine possession and was released on his own recognizance. Nearly a week later on February 6, Elliott took part in the fatal shooting of Tyrone Tyree. Krasner's office dropped drug charges after Elliott failed to appear in court, choosing to approve an arrest warrant for Tyree's murder instead. On March 13, as part of a
SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...
unit carrying out an arrest warrant, O'Connor was fatally shot and Elliott was charged. Prosecutor spokeswoman Jane Roh responded to criticism by stating that the office believed murder to be a more serious crime than drug possession and charged Elliott accordingly. On the night of O'Connor's death, Philadelphia police officers formed a human chain at Temple University Hospital entrance to prevent Krasner from entering. In July 2020, Krasner's office charged Philadelphia SWAT officer Richard P. Nicoletti with simple assault, reckless endangerment, official oppression, and possession of an instrument of crime. Video footage taken during the
George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...
showed that Nicoletti pepper sprayed three kneeling protesters. He pulled down the mask of one woman before spraying her in the face, sprayed another woman at point blank range, and sprayed a man numerous times in the face while he lay on the ground. In September 2021, Krasner started an Alternative Felony Diversion program for people charged with illegal possession of firearms. In 2024 it was reported that the program was associated with a 76 percent reduction in re-arrests. Krasner was featured in the 2021 documentary series '' Philly D.A.'' which won a prestigious Peabody Award in June 2022 for "crafting a thrilling series that's both broad and intimate about a man and a movement, capturing what happens when incrementalists meet their match in Big Idea thinkers who want to be doers." As of April 2022, Krasner's Conviction Integrity Unit had exonerated 25 people convicted under previous DAs. In 2023, the legislature established a separate office,
SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...
, to prosecute crimes committed on Philadelphia's public transit system. In October 2024, Krasner filed a lawsuit against
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's America PAC, alleging that a $1 million giveaway promoted by the PAC constituted an illegal lottery. The PAC offers daily cash prizes to registered voters in swing states who sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.


2022 impeachment

In June 2022, the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...
voted to form the Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order. The vote was 114 in favor and 86 opposed, and was largely along party lines (with all but one Republican voting in favor of it, and all but four Democrats, three from Philadelphia, voting against). The committee was tasked with investigating the possibility of
impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...
for Krasner's "dereliction of duty" in handling Philadelphia's gun violence crisis. In August 2022, Krasner was subpoenaed by the committee but said that his office would not comply with the subpoena which he claimed was "wholly illegitimate". He subsequently filed a petition with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania to halt the select committee's impeachment probe. In September, the Pennsylvania House voted to find Krasner in contempt for defying the committee's subpoena for documents related to his prosecutorial policies. Following the contempt vote, Krasner partially complied with the subpoena and provided the committee with "a number of documents", however some of the documents provided were already publicly available online, according to ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
''. On October 6, Krasner filed an additional petition with the Commonwealth Court to invalidate the subpoena. On October 26, articles of impeachment were filed against Krasner charging him with "misbehavior in office" and attempting to obstruct the select committee's investigation into him. The House Judiciary Committee approved the articles of impeachment in a party-line vote on November 15. The next day, Krasner was impeached by the State House in a 107-85 vote; one Republican and all Democratic members of the House voted against a total of seven articles of impeachment. He was the first person to be impeached by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since state Supreme Court Justice
Rolf Larsen Rolf Larsen (August 26, 1934 – August 11, 2014), a Democrat originally from Allegheny County, was first elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1978. Early life and career Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Larsen went to Pennsylvan ...
in 1994. On December 30, 2022, Judge Ellen Ceisler of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued a
court order A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying o ...
saying that Krasner's official actions in office did not meet the requirements by the state's constitution for impeachment. Following the court order, the
Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...
voted on January 11, 2023, to indefinitely postpone the impeachment trial which was originally scheduled for January 18. A day after the vote to indefinitely postpone, the full Commonwealth Court issued a split decision in which the majority of justices agreed with Ceisler's December 30 court order. On September 26, 2024, the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...
ruled that the articles of impeachment against Krasner had expired when the 2021-2022 legislative session expired.


Memoir

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...
published Krasner's
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
, ''For the People: A Story of Justice and Power'', in 2021.


Personal life

Krasner is married to Lisa M. Rau, a retired judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Krasner and Rau have two sons, Nate and Caleb. Krasner has a 40 percent partnership stake in Tiger Building LP, which owns the Princeton Club building among other Philadelphia properties.


Electoral history


See also

* Tiffany Cabán * Rachael Rollins


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasner, Larry 1961 births 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century Pennsylvania politicians American civil rights lawyers American people of Russian-Jewish descent District attorneys of Philadelphia Lawyers from Philadelphia Lawyers from St. Louis Living people Pennsylvania Democrats Politicians from Philadelphia Politicians from St. Louis Public defenders Stanford Law School alumni University of Chicago alumni United States officials impeached by state or territorial governments 20th-century American lawyers