PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The state House select committee handling the investigation into District Attorney Larry Krasner and the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, hosted a second day of hearings on Friday.
The committee chairman, Chester County Republican John Lawrence, had strong words for Krasners' supporters. Opening the second day of hearings at Philadelphia's Navy Yard, he questioned the timing of a stunt they pulled on Thursday.
"While a mother was describing the pain of searing loss after the murder of her son before this committee, at the same time, supporters of the status quo were literally holding a circus outside the building."
Lawrence said those supporters were singing and chanting, dressed up like lions, tigers and zebras.
"This committee will not be drawn into the gutter filled with circus animals, when the matter at hand is of such importance," he said.
Krasner, a Democrat, has repeatedly called the investigation a "political circus," accusing the committee of abusing the impeachment process in an attempt to violate the sovereignty of Philadelphia voters, who re-elected him last year in a landslide.
The first day of testimony, on Thursday, featured parents and family of murder victims in Philadelphia. The second day focused more on the level of enforcement of gun crime laws in the city.
In police jargon, charges of violations of the Uniform Firearms Act are called "VUFA" — for example, someone carrying a gun without a permit or when they are otherwise prohibited by law from carrying a gun.
Mark Bergstrom, executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, spent more than an hour testifying about Philadelphia crime statistics. He highlighted an increase in the number of firearms violation charges that have been dropped or withdrawn during Krasner's tenure: from 7% in 2015 to 21% in 2020.
Chester County Republican John Lawrence, who chairs the House select committee, asked Bergstrom what he inferred from that increase: "The question is why is that happening? And is there a basis that supports doing that or not doing that?"
Krasner's office has said there is a concern that VUFA charges in Philadelphia are felony-level; they see it as a charge too serious in the case of non-violent offenders.
Greg Rowe, executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association, told the committee the group does a lot of legislative and policy advocacy with the Legislature to address concerns like a punishment that doesn't fit a crime.
Rowe did point out district attorneys in Pennsylvania are given a wide berth with regard to prosecutorial discretion, so it's hard to make blanket statements without looking at each case individually.
Krasner has withdrawn his office from the organization, and Rowe spoke about the effects of that — including, he says, a lack of training in Krasner's office.
Krasner has said he feels the PDAA is too focused on incarceration.
