Soros-linked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has ordered his prosecutors to stop seeking prison sentences for host of offenses, and to downgrade felony charges to misdemeanors in armed robberies and drug dealing cases, the New York Post reported.
In a memo to staff, Bragg said offenses like marijuana possession, prostitution, and fare evasion will no longer be prosecuted.
The new DA also said his office “will not seek a carceral sentence” except with homicides and a few other cases, “including domestic violence felonies, some sex crimes and public corruption.”
“This rule may be excepted only in extraordinary circumstances based on a holistic analysis of the facts, criminal history, victim’s input (particularly in cases of
violence or trauma), and any other information available,” the memo reads.
Assistant district attorneys must also now keep in mind the “impacts of incarceration,” including whether it really does increase public safety, potential future barriers to convicts involving housing and employment, the financial cost of prison and the racial disparities over who gets time, Bragg instructed.
In other words, police resources will focus on “equitable outcomes.”
In even the worst cases, a request for incarceration can not exceed 20 years for a determinate sentence, “meaning one that can’t be reviewed or changed by a parole board,” according to the new directives.
The memo also tells prosecutors that the DA’s office “shall not seek a sentence of life without parole.”
Under state law, that punishment is reserved for the most heinous of murderers, including terrorists, serial killers, cop killers and fiends who kill children younger than 14 during in connection with sex crimes or torture.
Bragg’s memo also detailed the following instructions for prosecutors to reduce charges filed by cops in various cases:
Armed robbers who use guns or other deadly weapons to stick up stores and other businesses will be prosecuted only for petty larceny, a misdemeanor, provided no victims were seriously injured and there’s no “genuine risk of physical harm” to anyone. Armed robbery, a class B felony, would typically be punishable by a maximum of 25 years in prison, while petty larceny subjects offenders to up to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Convicted criminals caught with weapons other than guns will have those felony charges downgraded to misdemeanors unless they’re also charged with more serious offenses. Criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a class D felony, is punishable by up to 7 years behind bars.
Burglars who steal from residential storage areas, parts of homes that aren’t “accessible to a living area” and businesses located in mixed-use buildings will be prosecuted for a low-level class D felony that only covers break-ins instead of for more serious crimes. Those more serious crimes, class B and class C felonies, would be punishable by up to 25 and up to 15 years in prison respectively.
Drug dealers believed to be “acting as a low-level agent of a seller” will be prosecuted only for misdemeanor possession. Also, suspected dealers will only be prosecuted on felony charges if they’re also accused of more serious crimes or are actually caught in the act of selling drugs. That felony would mean facing up to seven years behind bars.
“ADAs should use their judgment and experience to evaluate the person arrested, and identify people: who suffer from mental illness; who are unhoused; who commit crimes of poverty; or who suffer from substance use disorders,” Bragg added.
“Charges should be brought consistent with the goal of providing services to such individuals, and leverage during plea negotiations should not be a factor in this decision,” he wrote.
Bragg claimed in an accompanying “Day One” letter to his staff, that the new policies will make New York City a safer place.
“These policy changes not only will, in and of themselves, make us safer; they also will free up prosecutorial resources to focus on violent crime.”
Bragged promised that he announce a plethora of other woke initiatives “on guns, sex crimes, hate crimes, and other matters” in the coming weeks.
NYC police unions were quick to condemn the new DA’s moves.
“Bragg gives criminals the roadmap to freedom from prosecution and control of our streets,” said the head of the NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association.
“In Bragg’s Manhattan, you can resist arrest, deal drugs, obstruct arrests, and even carry a gun and get away with it,” DEA president Paul DiGiacomo said in a prepared statement.
Former New York Governor George Pataki said during an appearance on 77 WABC that “smash and grabs will continue, and Cops will have their hands tied” in making arrests under Bragg’s new policies.
Bragg was elected in November 2021 with the help of left-wing billionaire George Soros, who donated $1 million to Color of Change PAC, which used it to fund Bragg’s campaign.
For the past several years, Soros has spend millions to elect left-wing district attorneys in Democrat-run cities throughout the nation. Their policies have significantly reduced prosecution rates, and have led to predictable increases in violent crimes and a lack of justice for the victims.
Soros-backed San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin is currently facing two recall efforts due to a public backlash over his soft on crime policies, which have led to rampant crime, including out of control looting.
An effort to recall Soros-funded Los Angeles DA George Gascón was launched in December 2021 for the same reasons.