Louisiana’s Sen. Kennedy introduces bill targeting ‘woke prosecutors’ who fail to charge violent offenders

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) launched a invoice Tuesday (Feb. 7) that will strip federal funding from the workplaces of native district attorneys who fail to prosecute violent criminals.

The Prosecutors Have to Prosecute Act would require elected district attorneys to “report violent crimes that they fail to cost criminals with committing,” Kennedy’s workplace mentioned in a press release. “Prosecutors who fail to report these choices threat shedding precedence federal funding for his or her districts.”

Kennedy is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The invoice was co-sponsored by Republican senators John Thune (South Dakota), Ted Cruz (Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee).

“Criminals are victimizing harmless Individuals, and woke prosecutors are letting them do it time and again,” Kennedy mentioned. “Louisianians and all Individuals need to know when their district attorneys refuse to face up for victims.

“Our invoice would require prosecutors to report what crimes they fail to prosecute, in order that Individuals can higher maintain their public servants accountable.”

Kennedy’s workplace mentioned the invoice would apply to state and native prosecutors within the 50 US cities by which crime is most on the rise — together with New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland. It mentioned jurisdictions with a proper coverage that eliminates money bail for offenses involving firearms would “lose sure federal grant funding.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York), who’s main companion laws within the Home of Representatives, mentioned, “Look no additional than my metropolis of New York, the place Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg launched a ‘Day One’ memo initially directing his workers to not prosecute sure crimes, downgrade different felony expenses filed by police, and not search sentences of life with out parole.

“The identical sort of woke insurance policies have been enacted by progressive DAs in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and voters have had sufficient. With prosecutors refusing to prosecute and governors solely enabling their leniency, Congress has a accountability to step in and arm the general public with the knowledge they should make knowledgeable choices on the poll field.”

Orleans Parish District Legal professional Jason Williams’ workplace didn’t reply to a request for touch upon Kennedy’s invoice.

The proposed laws was launched inside per week of Williams having a case quashed for the second time in six weeks, after lacking a deadline to cost an accused juvenile gunman in Felony District Court docket.

In every case, Williams had instructed victims’ households the accused teen offender can be prosecuted as an grownup, however didn’t file expenses inside the allowed 30-day window after arrest.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click on Right here to report it. Please embrace the headline.

Copyright 2023 WVUE. All rights reserved.