PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two attorneys with Philadelphia’s District Attorney’s Office say Larry Krasner told them to “protect the office” or face consequences as they handle a controversial appeal in Federal court. The allegations come days after damning testimony from a former attorney.
The case involves a 2009 murder conviction. A former attorney within the office testified at an evidentiary hearing on Friday that she was used as a “pawn” and pressured by her supervisor to side with the defendant in his appeal, and said the office “colluded” with defense attorneys and the Innocence Project to try to get the man out of prison.
Attorneys Katie Ernst and Steven Wildberger filed the Notice of Conflict in federal court, alleging District Attorney Krasner told them to “litigate the case in a manner to protect the office.” The two say they viewed the direction as "incompatible with their ethical obligations and the interests of the Commonwealth.”
They also wrote in the filing that when they told Krasner the case should be referred to the attorney general, he stated that there would be “consequences for anyone who notified the court of the conflict issues.”
Judge Paul Diamond ordered the hearing to figure out why the District Attorney’s Office first sided with the defendant to overturn his conviction, and then recanted.
Ernst and Wildberger are on the list of people ordered to testify, but due to time constraints, they have been moved to another day, which has not yet been scheduled.
KYW Newsradio has reached out to the District Attorney's Office for comment but has not yet heard back.
