Troy and Thomasine are joined by District Attorney Larry Krasner as they talk about his campaign for re-election and the continued changes needed to be made in Philadelphia.
Larry Krasner was born in 1961 in St. Louis, the son of a World War II veteran father and minister mother. After attending public schools in St. Louis and the Philadelphia area, Larry earned degrees from the University of Chicago and Stanford Law School with the help of student loans and scholarships.
While at Stanford, rather than focusing on corporate law, Larry worked for indigenous rights, homeless people, and the poor, in criminal matters. After graduating in 1987, he received several job offers from prosecutors’ offices around the country, but instead chose to return to Philadelphia to work as a public defender.
In 1993, Larry started his own law practice in Center City specializing in criminal defense and civil rights. Since then, he has tried thousands of cases in criminal and civil court and represented countless defendants and filed more than 75 civil rights lawsuits against the police for corruption and physical abuse.
Larry stands up for immigration, disability and gay rights, as well as the right to free speech. He has defended, normally at no cost, protesters at RNC 2000 and DNC 2016, members of ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, Casino-Free Philadelphia, DACA Dreamers, Decarcerate PA, Earth Quaker Action Team, Heeding God’s Call, Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Occupy Philly and Reclaim Philadelphia, advocates of public school funding and opponents of the death penalty.
During his first term as District Attorney, Larry has supported victims, he has exonerated the innocent, and he has held police accountable. He has reduced future years of incarceration and supervision while helping to drop the jail population. He has focused on the most serious crimes in Philadelphia while working with leaders to address the root causes of violence. He has kept kids out of adult court and kept them home. And he has fought against the powerful, like drug companies and those who steal from workers.
Larry lives in Philadelphia with his wife of 33 years.