New Orleans DA Jason Williams came to office with a pledge to not to prosecute juveniles as adults, but since taking office he's apparently had a change of heart. He told the New Orleans City Council, during 2022 budget hearings, that his office has transferred six juvenile arrests to adult court.
Williams explained his about-face after a line of tough questioning from Councilman Jay Banks.
“When I learned that there were adults, young adults, preying on the undeveloped brains of juveniles, suggesting to them that Jason Williams would never charge you as an adult that you’ll just go serve three years in jail, we will take care of your family, um, I’m not going to go commit this crime, you go commit this murder, listening to children, reaching out to children, going to schools, that changed,” said Williams “I evolved like all human beings should evolve.”
Williams said he wished there was some middle ground option available when kids commit a major crime. He said right now the choices are between lighter sentences juveniles receive for major crimes, and long-term adult incarceration.
“It is the hardest thing that I have ever had to do, I keeps me up at night, it wakes me up early in the morning,” said Williams.
The DA also addressed the significant decline in the percentage of felony and misdemeanor cases his office is prosecuting compared to his predecessors. From April 1st to November 8th the New Orleans District Attorney’s office rejected 40% of felony cases, and 76% of misdemeanors brought to them by cops.
“A prosecutor should not arbitrarily set high acceptance rates under the guise of public safety,” said Williams. “My numbers don’t decide whether we are safe or not. We are safer when there are fewer rapes, we are safer when there are fewer murders, we are safer when people are shooting at each other less in this community.”
The new, lower rate raised some eyebrows from Banks, who's been skeptical of William's approach to crime-fighting in the past.
“By the dismissals does that mean the police are not doing their jobs? I’m trying to understand when you, when you dismiss a case is that because the police were negligent?” asked Banks.
Williams argued there's a number of reasons why a case could be rejected, from a lack of evidence, to the perpetrator being a drug addict that is now working towards rehabilitation, or that the victim and perpetrator came to a settlement through "restorative justice".
Williams says there has not been an increase in crime as a result of his increased case refusals.
